Case Study: William Stilwell - Junior Engineer

A little about me: My name is Will Stilwell. I joined Bentley in 2012 as a Junior Engineer after completing a National Extended Diploma in Engineering and achieving Distinctions in all modules. To work for the blue-chip company, Bentley, part of VW Group, is a fantastic opportunity to earn, learn, and gain valuable working-life and business experience, alongside maintaining a fully accredited education.

Purchase Technical Support (PTS): My sponsoring and ‘home’ team, PTS, actively manage and resolve problems within the supply chain of Bentley. This ranges from auditing a supplier that is perceived to be ‘high risk’, to analysing and improving production methods, to responding in emergencies such as supplier insolvencies. This job provides me with the opportunity to travel around the world at a very young age, and get paid for the privilege. It can be stressful at times, as the business relies on your performance, but it feels good to be given the responsibility at such an early stage in my career.

Around the business: Being an apprentice allows me to complete placements in any department that I feel will benefit my development. The great thing about being an apprentice at Bentley is that you can write your own story, and sense true independence in your working life. I have spent time across the business in departments such as Engineering, Quality, Logistics, and more. This gives me a truly cross-functional picture of the business and allows me to be an advocate for my home department and also a ‘go-to-guy’ within Bentley.

Special opportunities: As well as working life, Bentley also offers perks which I have been lucky enough to benefit from. With my passion being motorsport, alongside Bentley’s currently very pro-active motorsport development program with the Continental GT3, I have managed to spend time with the motorsport team. This has included being involved with the development of the GT3, and also looking after the heritage cars, such as the Le Mans 2003 winning car, and also the 1934 Bentley ‘Blower’ that was also successful at Le Mans. As a lover of Karting, I have also joined the Bentley ‘Team Barnato’ karting team. We have a busy events calendar and many championships to defend.

Summary: The opportunities within Bentley are endless. An education all paid for, whilst being paid to gain valuable and enjoyable work experience. Can you beat that?!

BENTLEY MOTORS LIMITED Registered Office: Crewe, Cheshire, CWI 3PL, England. Registered in England under number 992897T: +44 (0) 1270 255155 / F: +44 (0) 1270 586548 www.bentleymotors.com