Enterprising junior design engineer Josh Redfern is celebrating after achieving a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. The 25-year-old first joined Cartwright in 2012 as an apprentice. He has since won a number of awards on his career journey and now plans to work towards becoming an incorporated engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and ultimately achieving chartered engineer status. However, Josh’s path to success has not been without its challenges. On the first day of university he and the other part-timers were told, ‘Throughout this journey there will be ups and downs. Some of you will buy a house, get married, have relatives pass away, have children and have very difficult moments with your family as well as have to deal with work and your studies. You need to make sure that you are ready for this journey’. Josh said: “It was a comment that stayed with me over the course of the four years as most of those things happened to me, however it was a case of staying calm and composed and dealing with the issues and getting past them.” As part of his degree he studied mechanical engineering principles, solid mechanics, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, professional design and practice, mathematical methods 1 and 2, stress, structures and engineering dynamics. He also studied engineering management and mechanical engineering design and completed an individual engineering project. Having achieved A Levels in Business Studies, Sport and Public Service Josh took the decision to join Cartwright’s apprenticeship scheme after initially deciding against university. As part of the scheme, organised in partnership with Stockport College, Josh spent his first 18 months with Cartwright rotating between each one of the company’s six departments, to experience every stage of the manufacturing process before choosing a speciality. He progressed to an advanced apprenticeship, achieving a Double Distinction in his Level 3 engineering qualifications. Speaking of his change of heart with university he said: “There has been a strong nucleus of people at Cartwright who have helped me along the way. “The team pushed me to achieve the highest level when I could have aimed for a lower qualification. “They had the confidence in me to make the big jump from Level 3 (ONC) to BEng,” Cartwright’s Group Managing Director, Mark Cartwright, said: “Congratulations to Josh on this wonderful achievement. Since joining us at the age of 19 he has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today and still shows as much ambition now as he did on day one. “We are incredibly proud of him for everything he has achieved and look forward to his continued development as he builds his career at the Cartwright Group.”