Six graduates have been chosen among thousands of entrants into STEM roles by Scottish space firm Skyrora.

After more than 1,000 applications at an assessment held at the firm’s Cumbernauld testing facility, Edward Robertson from Suffolk, Conor Melens from Inverness, Leo Glass from Edinburgh, Liam Brymer from Stirling, Magdalena Kraus from Poland, and Amy Markham from Malta will now begin their aerospace careers.

The assessment day consisted of several stages including aptitude tests, company assessments, high level engineering exams, company design projects and speed interviews, amongst other tasks.

Following the assessment, the six best performing candidates were chosen and assigned engineering roles at the Edinburgh-based firm.

One of the new starts, Conor Melens, who achieved a first-class MEng Aero-Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Strathclyde, spent time working for Rolls-Royce Nuclear, gaining experience in design, verification, and manufacturing jobs within engineering before applying to the Skyrora role.

Commenting on his appointment, Melens said: “It has always been my career goal to work within the space industry. However, the opportunities for a fresh engineer were limited. I jumped at the opportunity to apply for a project engineering role for Skyrora as soon as I saw the posting.”

University of Glasgow Aeronautical Engineering graduate Amy Markham said that assessment day was “fast-paced and challenging,” but that this made the job “even more rewarding”.

The six successful candidates are already underway with their STEM jobs at Skyrora and are part of creating a more environmentally cautious, sustainable space industry.

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Head of Engineering at Skyrora, Dr Jack James Marlow, said: “We have six brilliant young talents here that we are really excited about getting into the thick of it.

“With the sheer volume of applicants and those at the assessment day, it’s a testament to Amy, Conor, Leo, Liam, Magdalena and Edward for performing so well and showing us why they are right for Skyrora.

“There were so many strong applicants across the board at our assessment day, so we’d urge everyone to continue applying for roles at this exciting group.”

Skyrora is set to be the first firm to launch a rocket from the UK after signing a multi-million-pound deal with a Scottish spaceport.

Marlow added: “There is so many exciting projects going on at Skyrora at the moment, it’s a really dynamic place for our graduates to work.

“The new members of the team can help us on our mission to orbit, whilst doing it sustainably.”

Scotland’s space sector is made up of more than engineers and scientists, Skyrora said. The firm looks to “offer opportunities” for different career types and welcome transferable skills across the board.

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