Aspiring engineer · Apprenticeship 2026

James Verster

MachiningDrawingBuilding

Sixteen, and starting an engineering career the practical way — through the apprenticeship route.

Seeking a Level 2/3 engineering apprenticeship — September 2026

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01 Profile

I am a sixteen-year-old aspiring engineer, starting my career through the apprenticeship route. I learn by building: I am currently running my own benchtop CNC machining project, documented end-to-end, and working in a bike workshop while completing the Cytech Technical One qualification.

I am comfortable reading and producing technical drawings, and I am now transferring that skill to CAD. I am looking for a Level 2/3 engineering apprenticeship starting September 2026.

  • Available September 2026
  • Seeking Level 2/3 apprenticeship
  • Focus Machining · CAD/CAM
  • Evidence Public build log

02 Personal engineering portfolio

Practical work done on my own time, on my own machine — the evidence behind the CV.

01 In progress

CNC machining project

Own machine, own workshop · 2026 — present

Learning to set up, program and operate my own benchtop CNC machine: workholding, tooling, feeds and speeds, and G-code. I am designing and machining my own parts, and documenting the whole build publicly — CAD files, G-code, photographs, the build log, and the mistakes fixed along the way.

  • Machine setup, workholding and tool selection
  • Feeds, speeds and finishing passes
  • CAM workflow through to verified G-code
  • Public build log — including what went wrong
Build log on GitHub Repository publishing soon
02 Self-taught

Technical drawing

Freehand to CAD · Ongoing

Detailed freehand technical and anatomical studies with labelled structure — drawing what is underneath the surface, not just the outline. It is the same instinct an engineering drawing needs: know what the part is doing before you dimension it.

  • Freehand technical and anatomical study
  • Labelled structure and section thinking
  • Reading and producing technical drawings
  • Now transferring the same approach to CAD
03 In progress

AI as an engineering assistant

Used critically, documented openly · 2026 — present

I use AI tools as a working assistant rather than an answer machine: researching design decisions, generating and debugging G-code, checking tolerances and material choices, and writing up the build log. The repository shows the prompts and the process, not only the results.

  • Research and design-decision checks
  • G-code generation and debugging
  • Tolerance and materials sanity checks
  • Documentation and build-log write-up

03 Work experience

  1. August 2026 — present

    Workshop Assistant

    Independent bike workshop

    • Assisting qualified mechanics with servicing and repair — brakes, gears, drivetrain, wheels and safety checks.
    • Working to workshop health & safety practice; using hand tools and workshop equipment daily.
    • Handling customer bikes with care and to deadline.

04 Qualifications & training

Cytech Technical One (Theory)

In progress — August 2026

Industry-recognised cycle-technician certification (Cytech / Association of Cycle Traders): workshop health & safety and legal requirements, torque settings, lubricants, pre-delivery inspection to British Standards, and consumer law — completed alongside paid workshop experience.

GCSEs

Results 20 August 2026

Full GCSE results are published on 20 August 2026. Subject grades will be listed here on results day.

Engineering study

From September 2026

Confirmed after results day and enrolment. The target is a Level 2/3 engineering apprenticeship — machining, fabrication or maintenance.

05 Skills

Workshop

  • Hand tools
  • Measurement & marking out
  • Assembly
  • Safe working practice

CNC

  • Machine setup
  • Workholding
  • G-code
  • CAM workflow
  • Feeds & speeds

Drawing & CAD

  • Freehand technical drawing
  • Reading engineering drawings
  • Learning CAD

AI-assisted working

  • Research
  • Code & G-code debugging
  • Calculation checks
  • Documentation

General

  • Punctual
  • Practical
  • Keen to learn from time-served engineers

Interests

Cycling and bike mechanics · Drawing · Making and fixing things