From apprenticeships and qualifications to professional development and employability skills. Supporting learners, partners, and centres with tools to deliver, assess, and grow.
Join a professional community committed to excellence in management and leadership. Access exclusive resources, and recognition pathways including Chartered Manager.
Connect, celebrate, and lead with CMI’s vibrant community. From events and awards to networks and campaigns, get involved and help shape the future of management.
Stay informed with expert insights, thought leadership, and the latest in management. From in-depth features to practical guidance, explore the ideas shaping today’s workplace.
Learn about CMI’s mission, values, and impact. From our Royal Charter to governance, careers, and sustainability commitments, discover who we are and what drives us.
28 April 2017 -
Georgia Henderson has been working for four years for engineering consultants Atkins, where she undertook an apprenticeship learning “the fundamentals of engineering”.
The experience at Atkins gave Henderson exposure to each facet of the business, before picking her favourite part to study further.
“When I first started my apprenticeship I was put on a drawing board for 12 weeks,” she said. “Then I got to move round each discipline so mechanical, civil and electrical and then at the end of my second year I was allowed to choose which discipline I would like to specialise in, so I chose mechanical.”
Attending a secondary school that specialised in engineering put Henderson at an advantage, giving her awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at a very young age and showing her “what it would be like to be a woman in engineering”.
Having deciding that “the apprenticeship route would be the quickest way for me to get involved with the engineering and have a career as well”, Henderson takes particular pride in the leadership roles she has taken on at Atkins.
She led a laser scanning survey project at a nuclear decommissioning site to produce an accurate 3D model to allow the client to show their employees the actual inside of the nuclear building without entering it - reducing the risk of radiation exposure.
Henderson says such experiences makes her confident that her apprenticeship has given her a significant competitive advantage over her peers.
“The benefit of my apprenticeship, I feel, is by the time I'm 25 I'll have just come out of my degree,” she stated, “I'll have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering along with nine years' experience of work.
“Compared to somebody [who is] 25 who got their degree a little bit sooner than me but only has 2-3 years' experience, I will have a lot more experience. I'll have built up over nine years in leadership, and taking on these management roles [early in my career at Atkins] will help me a lot with my future career.”
Her future is certainly bright in a thriving UK industry.
Find out more about the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship
› The persistence of presenteeism and other nuanced nonsense
› A new age of vulnerability: why inclusive leadership matters more than ever
› Ask yourself: "How do I make my employees feel?"
› Finance and the Diversity Dividend
For more information or to request interviews, contact CMI's Press Team on 020 7421 2705 or email press.office@managers.org.uk
› The 5 Greatest Examples of Change Management in Business History
› Four companies that failed spectacularly, and the lessons of their premature demise
› 6 companies that get employee engagement – and what they do right
› 4 Signs That Racism May Be An Issue In Your Workplace
› How to build an Effective Team: focus on just 3 things
