Matt Richards has always had an interest and passion for aviation. It was this interest that drove him to apply to the Marshall apprenticeship programme straight after his A-levels had concluded in 2012. Since then, Matt has had an amazing career, working and developing his mechanical engineering skills in different organisations across the UK like Sandhurst and the Royal Academy for Mechanical Engineering. When Matt arrived in Cambridge and joined Marshall and worked under the tutelage of industry and Marshall veterans Keirron Mascall and Robin Lipscombe, who over the course of 18 months, gave him the best-in-class education to help mould his career in aviation and mechanical engineering.
“The training I got at Marshall with the fantastic leaders and people has given me excellent preparation for the career I am in now. I genuinely don’t think I would be the person I am now or in the job I have without it.”
When reflecting about his time at Marshall, Matt talked about the education and engineering experience being fond and inspiring memories, however, what really stuck with him the most was the team and the culture that Marshall gave him. Matt spoke fondly of working with his colleagues and engaging in fun team activities and experiences both in and outside of work. This experience was extended over to the hangars where Matt spent some of his time working on C-130 Hercules aircraft at Cambridge Airport.
After leaving Marshall, Matt moved to the prestigious military academy Sandhurst, and then later the Royal Academy for Engineering. Following this, Matt pursued an impressive career in the military, working on various engineering projects and repairing aircraft like Apache attack helicopters as well as leading two engineering platoons and applying his knowledge and experience from Marhsall to lead two platoons of engineers to lead and educate them on how to tackle the challenges of engineering.
Armed with exceptional education and experience, Matt has an ambitious and bright future ahead of him. When his time in the army concludes, it’s his ambition to return to the strategic side of aerospace and defense and look for a career in project management for civilian aerospace companies, as well as defense, if the opportunity presents itself. Given his incredible career thus far in aviation engineering as well as the military, we are certain that this will be a path that Matt has the skills and expertise to rise up to and succeed in, thanks to his education at Marshall as well as the other prestigious academic and work experiences he has participated in.
