Skin in the game - how two Lithgow apprentices put themselves in the customer's shoes

Thales Australia employees Josh Winter and Angus Carrigan both began their apprenticeships at our Lithgow site in January 2019 and have fully immersed themselves in the business - even completing a five-week basic Army Reserve training at Kapooka to gain a true appreciation of the rifle used by our customer!

Business Improvement Manager David Forbes says Angus and Josh are the first apprentices to volunteer to join up as Army Reserves in his 31 years of looking after the apprenticeship program at Lithgow. “Both guys approached me and said they wanted to serve their country not only in the manufacture of Small Arms but also in the field,” says David. He was fully supportive of their aspirations and believes there’s real benefit for our staff to experience our products from a user’s perspective instead of solely as a manufacturer.

The training – located near Wagga Wagga – is not for the faint hearted and involved 16-hour days, seven days a week. The jam-packed schedule included Combat First Aid, Basic Firearms training, Army Combatitives program (hand to hand combat), radio operations, navigation, extensive fitness training, marching & drills, functions and history of Australian Army. The aim of the game was to instil teamwork and discipline among the trainees but for Angus and Josh their training drill was so much more meaningful. The opportunity to experience the rifle from the customer’s perspective has further fuelled their already abundant passion for what they do at Thales.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Josh bid farewell to his family and friends at age 17 to begin his apprenticeship at Lithgow with only his black kelpie dog, Sasha, in tow. For Josh, pursuing a career at Thales was a no-brainer.

I’ve always had a passion for the history of manufacture of military firearms. Where else would I learn more and be involved in the next generation of Australian made Infantry rifles than at Thales?"

Josh Winter, Apprentice at Thales Australia

Angus also knew at a young age he was destined to work with firearms.

My dad has always been a responsible shooter, he used to compete in clay pigeons shooting in Scotland. I have been shooting since the age of 12. My ideal job was always to be doing something with firearms. An apprenticeship at Lithgow Arms is all I wanted to do."

Josh and Angus are both completing a CERT IV in Engineering Mechanical trade, which runs for four years. While a typical day in the life of a Lithgow apprentice varies, each apprentice is given a number of competencies and tasks to complete. The core skill for a mechanical engineering trade apprentice is precision machining, working to fine tolerance (.005 microns or equivalent to one twentieth of the thickness of a piece of A4 paper) and Computer Numerical Control machining. Other activities include Metal Treatment, Metrology, Assembly and test and evaluation of the products serviced and manufactured at Lithgow Arms.

Our Lithgow business currently has nine apprentices and they form an important part of the team’s culture. As David points out, apprenticeships are a big part of Lithgow’s history and many of today’s technical, engineering and middle management on site started out as apprentices.

We truly believe at Lithgow that we reap what we sow, and the time we invested in our apprentices will ensure that our sovereign capability into the future is secured. I’m confident our apprenticeship program will continue to breed and prepare young people for a new era of technologies, digitisation, artificial intelligence and customer focused systems."

David Forbes, Business Improvement Manager at Thales Australia