A former apprentice from Cheadle engineering firm, Thales, has been named Young Manager of the Year in the 2021 Made in Manchester Awards.
Software Engineering Manager, Nadia Johnson (pictured), joined Thales as an apprentice, and now leads a team of 22 engineers, developing software for advanced submarine sonar systems. She rose to a management position in just a year after graduating from her apprenticeship with a first-class honours degree in software engineering. Nadia was named Young Manger of the Year, a new category for 2021 in the Made in Manchester Awards, for her ‘exceptional ability to support, motivate and aid development’ of others.
She now uses her position and experience at Thales to encourage other young people to consider apprenticeships into STEM careers. Nadia has sat on Thales UK’s apprentice committee and is a champion for the firm’s employee engagement team, as well as working as a Thales STEM Ambassador.
Commenting on a blog post in support of National Apprenticeships Week on the Thales website, Nadia said:
I’ve been so fortunate to take on an apprenticeship at Thales. There are some incredible opportunities and it’s becoming more diverse and inclusive every year. Plus, our national economy has an insatiable need for experts in STEM. I really want to help to get that message across.
“Apprentices – certainly at Thales and I’m sure in other companies – don’t just get a job, a salary and professional qualifications, they get the opportunities they want and the support they need to launch a successful rewarding and interesting career.
“You can make the job as big as you want. And I decided from the very start that I wanted everything, all of it. I want to go all the way, inspiring as many young people to tread the same path as I am. It’s good for me, it’s good for them and great for the economy.”
Further information about Thales UK’s apprenticeship programmes is available from the company’s careers website.