Renée Breen - Apprentice in Naval Architecture

A ship can look rock solid and still be one bad weight shift away from trouble. We’re joined by Rene, a level 4 apprentice naval architect, to make vessel stability feel real, human, and surprisingly relatable, from heel and GM values to the unglamorous truth of tracking every kilo during a refit. If you’ve ever wondered what naval architecture actually involves, or how ships get safely repurposed and sent back to sea, this conversation gives you a clear starting point.We also talk apprenticeships in the UK. Rene walks us through the competitive application stages, the aptitude-style tests you can’t really revise for, and the pressure of A-level results. Her biggest insight is simple. Employers often look past imperfect grades when your attitude, curiosity, and determination are obvious. Along the way, we dig into apprenticeships versus university debt, how progression can work from HNC to degree routes, and why “hard work over talent” shows up in real hiring decisions.Then it gets personal. Rene moved from Liverpool to Plymouth for the role, leaving a close family network and building a new life from scratch. We discuss what it’s like being one of very few women in engineering, how odd comments can wear you down, and why reporting harassment is not “making a fuss”, it’s protecting people. She also shares the value of industrial placements, learning on the tools, and having a mentor who actually takes time to teach.If you enjoy honest career stories, engineering problem-solving, and practical lessons that cross over into construction and infrastructure, you’ll get loads from this. Subscribe for more, share this with someone weighing an apprenticeship, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.https://constructioncogs.com/https://www.youtube.com/@CCcranelifehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheConstructionCogsPodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/cccranelife/https://www.tiktok.com/@cccranelifehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmywebb/https://www.reddit.com/user/ConstructionCogs/