Fabricated by the shop floor

If ever there was proof that qualifications aren’t everything, it’s Adam Heap. He left school desperate to start work, only to see more than 20 applications for plumbing apprenticeships go nowhere. Fortunately, his late father had another idea.

“My dad, who was an electrician, suggested engineering,” he recalls. “I went for an interview at a sheet metal fabricator and had a tour of the shop floor. I remember thinking: ‘Wow, this is different. We never covered anything like this at school’. It got my attention.”

Adam ended up completing a four-year fabrication and welding apprenticeship, becoming the only one of six apprentices to finish. He credits his parents for his perseverance.

“Looking back now, I’d tell my 16-year-old self to be patient. A four-year apprenticeship feels like a long time when you’re young, but it’s nothing in career terms.”

Adam’s practical foundations proved invaluable, prompting moves into design, contracts, sales and business development. However, he believes those years on the shop floor remain his greatest qualification.

“It provides credibility. I can sit in a room with buyers, engineers and quality professionals and quickly grasp what matters to each of them. Customers immediately know I understand manufacturing from the inside.”

Adam recently struck a chord on LinkedIn with a post titled Skilled, not schooled, arguing that vocational career paths deserve greater recognition.

“I was simply reflecting on my own journey and was blown away by the response. Manufacturing is such a rewarding career, but we place too much emphasis on university as the default route. Today’s apprentices get to work with CNC machines, CAD/CAM software, robotics and AI. It’s an exciting pathway.”

Now a Business Development Principal at leading northeast sheet metal fabricator Universal Wolf, Adam is helping the company grow its presence in the defence sector. And guess what? He still has plenty of ambition.

“I’d like to reach director level, but I’m also writing a book about sales in manufacturing. There seem very few sales books written for UK engineers who want to move from technical roles into commercial ones. Hopefully, I can help bridge that gap.”