Motorsport Jobs: From a building site to working for McLaren

McLaren Automotive is renowned for its pursuit of perfection, so recruiting the best people to meet the company's high standards is of paramount importance.

There is no established pathway to a career in one of the world's most prestigious automotive brands, as McLaren employees are drawn from all different backgrounds - however some are less conventional than others.

Data integration lead Chase Beswick is one such example, proving the old adage that anyone with passion and hard work can make it to the very top.

"When I left school, I didn't really have a clear career plan and I started working on the building site for [the McLaren Technology Centre] as it was nearing completion," he said.

"I worked as a general labourer cleaning up the building site and I handed my CV into the paint shop. They took me on as an apprentice."

Beswick's apprenticeship gave him the opportunity to learn from some of the leading minds in the industry and earn a salary at the same time.

Apprenticeships have proved a worthwhile route for others in the company too.

Manufacturing systems and process manager Dan Bryant praised the positive outcome from his apprenticeship, having first sampled engineering through a project looking into the adhesive used in body construction at McLaren Automotive.

"Then I got offered an apprenticeship, so I took the apprenticeship and that grew my interest in it through college and through doing the various courses," he said.

Having a strong educational programme allowed Bryant and others to harness the opportunities that McLaren can offer.

Project engineer Alex Trebilco, who attended an all-girl's school where interest in engineering was not common, praised her Design and Technology teacher for giving her the hands-on experience that ignited her passion to pursue engineering as a career.

"I think design and technology was a really important subject for me, it was a good chance at school to be able to get hands on, which is something that you very rarely get because it's all very academic and very theoretical," she said.

"I was using tools and it was exploring all types, you use a bit of maths, a bit of art and it brings it all together."

The MACH Exhibition Show at Birmingham's NEC Arena on April 9-13, organised by the Manufacturing Trade Association (MTA), will have plenty of opportunities for young people to visit exhibitors and find out more about careers in engineering