Hindley Green student is flying high after achieving his dream job thanks to apprenticeship scheme

16 July 2019

Jack works in BAE Systems flight simulation design team despite only graduating this week

A Hindley Green student is helping pilots learn how to fly the latest cutting-edge aircrafts without ever having to leave the ground.

Jack Bishop is working in pioneering flight simulation development for BAE Systems after spending the last four years completing a degree in software engineering through the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) as part of the Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Scheme.

Despite only graduating from UCLan this week, it means Jack has already secured his dream job and is responsible for managing three employees in the simulation department. In this role, Jack and his team are responsible for prototyping the future cockpit environments for pilots to train in and use for combat.

"It's been intense. I’ve had to be very disciplined because I was both working and studying at the same time."

The 23-year-old said: “It’s an exciting role with a lot of responsibility. We are at the very beginning of the development lifecycle so we are developing software that will lead the functionality of the aircraft. What my team is doing makes a big difference.”

Jack was one of the first BAE apprentices to embark on the BEng (Hons) Software Engineering degree at UCLan in 2015 following a BTEC in IT at Bolton College.

The former Hindley Community High School pupil said: “It’s been intense. I’ve had to be very disciplined because I was both working and studying at the same time. It’s been worth all the hard work though and to walk away with a first-class honours degree is the icing on the cake.”

The ambitious engineer admits things may have turned out differently if he had continued to study for the A-Levels he initially set out to do at Bolton College. After spending a year taking this route, Jack realised A-Levels weren’t for him and switched to his BTEC course where he secured a 100% mark and finished just as the new apprenticeship opened for application.

Jack added: “It’s all worked out perfectly and I’m looking forward to progressing my career with BAE. To have achieved all this aged 23 is a dream come true.”

Jack graduated alongside 3,500 other students from UCLan this week.