Career Heroes - Harvey Barnes

Tell us more about you

I graduated with a 2:1 in a Mechanical Engineering masters from Queen’s University in 2022 and I’ve been in full time work with the Hyster-Yale Group for the past six months.

What kind of work do you do?

Since starting in the New Product Start-Up (NPS) Department at Hyster-Yale, I’ve been involved with many different projects. Some of my work involves designing manufacturing lines to build new products.

I also helped develop a spreadsheet to analyse the throughput capacity of each workstation in the factory, which will be used to predict future bottleneck issues due to demand changes. This will help the managers of each area better distribute their workers to maximise effectiveness and productivity.

More recently I’ve been involved in testing a new type of industrial robot (a collaborative robot called a “cobot”) to work out its capabilities and potential to see where it could be utilised in our facility to maximise output.

How did you become a Manufacturing Engineer?

I was very interested in building things. When I was younger, I used to make my own model farms from wood and toy tractors. I was always good at Maths, Physics, and Technology in school, so I chose these subjects for my A Levels.

I always thought engineering was the path I’d like to go down and during my A Levels, I was fortunate enough to get a week's work experience in Hyster-Yale in Craigavon, which allowed me to get an insight into all the different departments in a manufacturing facility.

I went on to study a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University. I chose to do a placement year, which offered me the much needed hands-on experience required to secure a job when I finished university.

After a successful placement, I always wanted to return to Hyster-Yale for full-time work due to the clear opportunities available and the investment being made in the facility. I felt like this meant I would have job security and lots of opportunities to develop my career as I wanted.

If you could do-over, What would you do differently?

I feel very lucky to have taken the path I did through A Levels and on to the Mechanical Engineering degree, completing a great placement year, which led to my current job with the same company. I wouldn’t really make any changes if I were to do it again.

However, I would advise others to consider an FE College as an alternative to doing A Levels in school, especially for students who aren’t really fans of exam-style education. One of my friends from uni went to College after his GCSEs and spent a few years there studying and completing more coursework-based modules. After achieving a Distinction, he was able to start University in the same year and course as me, so if you do prefer coursework-style learning then there are options that can still get you to University.

The Apprenticeship Degree option for students who have completed their A Levels is another path where a company trains you for two years and puts you through your desired degree either part-time or full-time. This way you get experience and earn a wage at the same time, so you don’t need a placement year and sometimes you can start your university course in the second year of the programme.