Apprentices scale the heights at Northants-based MLL Telecom

The 18 months training scheme provided both theoretical and practical experience of the skills required for supporting the mission critical network infrastructures of all the UK mobile network operators. These depend on MLL’s UK-wide workforce of field maintenance engineers and the company’s logistics operations in Silverstone to keep the nation’s mobile devices connected 24/7 - come rain or shine.

All four apprenticeship graduates are now employed full-time by MLL Telecom. They are Logan McArthur aged 20, Sam Curtis aged 22, Stuart Smith aged 31 – all from Northamptonshire - and Dylan Share aged 19 from the West Midlands.

With mobile voice, data and video traffic volumes going through the roof, their skills are already in big demand. MLL Telecom’s Field Engineering experts work across the country and are certified to undertake work at ground level or at height when installing equipment or resolving on-site network problems. They cover not only the latest 5G network technologies but also all previous generations including point-to-point microwave.

Over the next 12 months MLL are looking to recruit a further 20 engineers to join the existing 40-strong field engineering team.

"MLL are a growing Northants and Buckinghamshire based high tech and engineering business employing over 180 people in the region,” said Peter Oxtoby, MLL’s Delivery Director. “We are actively looking for new local talent and have immediate vacancies for field engineering professionals with microwave radio technology experience. We’ll also consider training up candidates from outside the industry provided they have certified working at height experience and are motivated by making a career change – roofers and scaffolders, for example.”