[BITList] BAE's Kevin McLeod: ‘Engineering is not just about defence’

[michael J Feltham]

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> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/stem-awards/defence-technology/engineering-is-not-just-about-defence/ <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/stem-awards/defence-technology/engineering-is-not-just-about-defence/>
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> ‘Engineering is not just about defence’
> Kevin McLeod, 50, is the engineering <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/stem-awards> director at BAE Systems Maritime. Before joining the private sector nearly eight years ago, he spent his career at the Ministry of Defence where he joined as a teenage apprentice. He’s been involved in building the two largest naval warships, including HMS Queen Elizabeth which is preparing for sea trials in spring 2017.
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> I still love getting close to the ships. Just this morning I’ve been on board naval ship HMS Brocklesby. I get such a buzz from speaking to the young men and women who are charged with taking things apart and fixing problems. I still find that side really fascinating.
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> I started out as an apprentice technician with the Ministry of Defence. I got home from school and my grandmother spotted the scheme in the paper. I did what any good 16-year-old will do and filled in the form and that was it. My uncle used to make model warships, and that idea of building and fixing things had been with me for a long time. But it wasn’t like a switch had been flicked. My interest grew over the months and years. Becoming an engineer, solving problems and delivering solutions still gives me an enormous amount of satisfaction.
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> I try and instil that engineering is not just about defence. It can be building bridges, oil and gas, or renewables
> In my first four years I worked in nearly all the major UK ship building sites including Portsmouth, Glasgow and Barrow. I was lucky enough to work on nuclear submarines in Plymouth, where I got a unique insight into how the Navy operates. I did well enough to go on to a degree in ship science at the University of Southampton and then a masters in warship design at University College London and then an MBA. I’ve been at BAE Systems nearly eight years now.
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> Talking about engineering is important to me. I get enormous pleasure in speaking at schools and to young recruits. I make a point of saying that I started where they are now some 34 years ago. I try and instil that engineering is not just about defence. It can be building bridges, oil and gas, or renewables. Just look at the things that get done by engineers.
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> There are some frustrations. All the armed forces have squeezed budgets. The navy might want to do certain things but with only 80 per cent of the required budget, and we have to work out what matters. But part of the challenge is trying to do more for less.
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> We’ve been working to improve fuel efficiency on warships. We’ve taken technologies that have worked on army bases in Afghanistan and we’re piloting them on warships to try and get up to 15pc of fuel savings. We’ve been developing radar technologies – our long range radar can now track around a thousand objects up to 400km away.
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> I realised early on my career you only get things done through people. It’s all very well to sit behind a screen, but getting on the phone or speaking to people face to face is pivotal.
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> I’ve been lucky enough to have mentors through various stages. When I was on the graduate programme a mentor helped shape my training and encouraged me to do things I wouldn’t have thought of, and guided the early stage of my career. I’ve tried to mentor and give feedback wherever I can.
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> I’m also taking part in reverse mentoring. A 25-year-old graduate is helping me understand how engineers think when they are that age. It’s enormously interesting. I thought I had a good network, but young people are incredibly connected and have taken social media to a new level. My kids think it’s hilarious that their dad is trying to be hip using Twitter and Facebook. I’m just trying to understand what motivates the people who will be the bedrock of our future.
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