South Devon College T Level Student Secures Engineering Apprenticeship with Paignton-Based Oriole Networks

“My own career aspirations have never been so wild”

Oliver “Ollie” Lee has always wanted to know how things work. “I love to solve problems and understand the process behind things,” he says. “Engineering is a perfect fit.” That instinct, more than any single subject, is what took him from a T Level classroom at South Devon College to a paid engineering placement with Oriole in Paignton, and from there onto a Level 6 BSc Apprenticeship.

Before the placement, Ollie was studying T Level Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing at South Devon College. Alongside his course, he worked weekends as a shop assistant at his local Co-op. It wasn’t the career he wanted, but it gave him extra money and, in his words, “pushed me to do better in my course and work placement.”

“The fantastic partnership we have built with Oriole demonstrates the impact employers can have on the next generation of budding engineers,” says Tracey Dawson, Skills Development Coordinator for Engineering at South Devon College. “Their commitment to providing meaningful placement opportunities, plus their trust in the College to identify the right learner in the beginning, has given Ollie an incredible start to his career while helping to keep local talent within the Bay, all of which makes me very honoured to be part of.”

Ollie admits he was apprehensive walking in on his first day. He was placed in an office with two newly started graduates and a senior engineer, who helped him settle in straight away. An overview of the labs, some introductions, and software to sort through followed. “I left my first day eager to return for the next,” he says.

What came next took him well outside anything he’d studied before. Oriole works in a completely different field of engineering to what Ollie was used to, and one task in particular stood out: laser alignment, using lasers with wavelengths invisible to the human eye. “I never expected to be working with lasers that you cannot see,” he says.

“Ollie’s story perfectly reflects what we’re striving to achieve at South Devon College: creating transformative opportunities that connect learning with industry and help learners discover futures they may never have imagined,” says Steve Caunter, Assistant Principal at South Devon College. “Through strong partnerships with employers such as Oriole, we’re not only developing technical skills, but also building confidence, ambition and a sense of possibility. Seeing local talent progress from the classroom into highly skilled careers demonstrates the powerful impact of collaborative education and industry working together to shape the workforce of the future.”

The placement didn’t just teach Ollie new skills. “His progress was impressive, and several of his ideas and designs have since been incorporated into systems delivered to Oriole’s manufacturing test team,” says Ross, Chief Test Engineer at Oriole. That contribution, combined with his ability to apply new knowledge to real problems, led Oriole to offer him a Level 6 BSc Apprenticeship. A second South Devon College T Level student has since been recruited onto the same route.

For Ollie, the experience has reshaped what he thinks is possible. “Working within Oriole has introduced me to people who have had careers in fields I didn’t even know existed,” he says. “My own career aspirations have never been so wild.” He’s no longer able to point to a single path, and expects that to keep changing the longer he stays.

In September, Ollie continues at South Devon College, progressing onto an Integrated Technologies Engineering (Advanced Mechanical Design and Practice) degree, alongside his apprenticeship. His advice to anyone considering the same route is straightforward: “If you want early industry insight and like the idea of practical learning intertwined with theoretical learning, it’s a good course to enrol in. It can provide ways into further education, an apprenticeship, or a full-time job.”

Oriole’s partnership with South Devon College now runs through its T Level placement scheme, with two more students currently partway through theirs. For Oriole, it’s a low-cost, low-risk way to identify talent early and see how someone works before committing to a hire. For Ollie, it turned out to be the start of a career he hadn’t fully mapped out yet, and one that keeps expanding the more he learns.

South Devon College’s Ready. Skilled. Funded. campaign connects local employers with funded apprenticeship talent like Oliver. To find out how a placement or apprenticeship could work for your business, visit Employer Apprenticeship Incentives – South Devon College or join us at our next business drop-in at Newton Abbot Racecourse Wednesday 12th August, 9am-1pm.