For someone who loves taking things apart and putting them back together again, Zachary Frank has landed in the perfect place: at Rotork’s Leeds manufacturing facility working as an apprentice Field Service Engineer, as part of the company’s Service Academy programme.

Thanks to encouragement from his electrician father, Zachary has always been interested in how things work. Following engineering-based A levels at college, he jumped at the chance to start an apprenticeship with Rotork in September 2024.

Zachary said: “I attended many interviews with other engineering companies, but Rotork was the only one that excited me. I really wanted a hands-on job with the opportunity to work with different components and systems, and the role of the Field Service Engineer fixing problems on-site really appealed to me.”

All-round experience

Zachary is part of the Leeds team that assembles actuators and gearboxes, which are dispatched to customers around the world. However, he is also gaining experience working in Rotork’s sales office to understand the administration and customer service sides of the business. He also spends two days at college to enhance his technical knowledge.

When he qualifies in four years’ time as a Field Service Engineer, his role will involve visiting customers to help them with installations, repairs or diagnose any issues with the products that need attention.

Excellent opportunities

Although he has a lot to learn before he can hit the road, Zachary is enjoying his training to get up to speed with Rotork’s products and customer service standards.

He said: “In the first year, the apprentices are on a rotation around the Skilmatic and Gears workshops to give us an insight into the different products Rotork produces, together with a spell in the office. From September to December [2024], I was working on the Skilmatics production line, which involves actuator assembly. That was where I wanted to start because that’s one of the company’s products that intrigued me the most, so having that experience really set me on a good path within the company, because I got to know the product well.

Deliver for customers

“Now I'm working in the office, so I’m learning the customer side of the business such as contracts, sales and how tasks are assigned to Field Service Engineers. This is valuable because it helps me understand what goes on in the background when going out into the field – I can see it from our valued customer’s point of view.

“At the beginning of March [2025], I will be building gear boxes, which go on the bottom of the actuators. After these three rotations we will progress into the service workshop where we will get hands-on experience of strip, re-build and diagnostic fault finding on all Rotork products.”

Although it was daunting starting a new job, Zachary’s colleagues have made him welcome. He said: “They were all very friendly and made me feel part of the team. Everyone is very supportive of new apprentices, and they have not overloaded me with information but enabled me to gradually build up my knowledge.”

Safety first

With three rotations in different departments during his first year it’s hard to pin down a typical day but safety is a constant factor. He explained: “When I’m in manufacturing the first thing I do is put on my safety shoes and safety glasses, then it’s a case of finding out what needs doing that day and going to my station to start work. Everything is well organised, so there is always a constant workflow of actuator-related work to do throughout the day and colleagues to call on for advice. The work in the gearbox workshop will be similar. It’s a bit like putting Lego together.”

While Zachary has a few years to go before he qualifies, he’s been impressed with his experience with Rotork so far. “I see myself staying with Rotork as they provide so many opportunities as part of a global network to further my career in engineering,” he said.

Click here to find out more about working with us.