Bristol students hoping to be named industry high-fliers
Gabriella Thomas, 18, from Westbury-on-Trym and Lara Small, 23, from Stoke Gifford are in the regional final of a competition for students on year-long company placements.
Both will be hoping to hear their own name when the winners are announced at The Year in Industry awards, to be held at the University of the West of England next Wednesday.
Two of the final field of six will be chosen to go on and represent the South West in the national finals in London in September.
The Bristol duo were selected after impressing the judges with their achievements working at two top companies in the Bristol area.
Lara has been working for Rolls-Royce in Patchway on a project that could save the company £1 million-a-year. She is managing research into a technique to strengthen jet engine components without increasing their weight, and has dealt with big customers such as the Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defense.
Lara was originally going to study psychology but, after stripping down her motorbike at home, became interested in engineering and changed course. She is understandably excited at the prospect of carrying off the honours on Wednesday.
She said:"Winning the award would be a fantastic seal of approval onto an already brilliant year with the company. It's a fantastic company and I enjoy working with the team around me.
"I was tasked with a large, meaningful project and I very much enjoyed my time there.
"It will prove invaluable when applying for future engineering jobs. The Rolls-Royce brand and heritage carries so much credibility."
Her manager at Rolls, Matt Smith, added: "Lara's contribution to the team has been invaluable, managing her project alongside us as a full member of the team.
"What's impressed me most about her has been her drive and boundless energy. She's been able to move the project along regardless of obstacles, keeping our customers happy in the process."
Ex-St Brendan's Sixth Form College student Gabriella has also made a big impression during her placement with ink manufacturer Sun Chemical in Midsomer Norton. She has been developing new inks that act as conductors and replace wire circuits in gadgets such as calculators and computer keyboards.
Like Lara, she believes the experience has been a huge boost to her career prospects and is hoping to be selected for the national finals in London later this year.
She said: "It would be an enormous pleasure to represent the South West at the finals in London.
"Working at the Sun Chemical circuits division has been thoroughly enjoyable and the members of staff at the Midsomer Norton Site have been very supportive.
"The added bonus is that it has added relevant working experience to my CV for future employment.
Gabriella's manager at the Midsomer Norton company, Simon Ford, said: "Gabriella is conscientious and bright with a great work ethic, but a major factor has been her willingness to learn and apply her knowledge to new tasks."
The Year in Industry competition is run by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), a charity whose goal is to set young people on the road to a career in science, engineering and technology.
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