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Hertfordshire’s MBDA wins top business award
November 24, 2011
MBDA wins The ERA Foundation Award for Best Partnership with Education at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards
24 November 2011
Hertfordshire-based MBDA was rewarded for its work with schools, colleges and universities with a top business award at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence Awards, held in London last night (Wednesday 23 November).
The award ceremony was compered by Alistair Campbell, and attended by Mark Prisk MP, Margaret Beckett MP as well as a host of other top business names.
Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:
“MBDA’s win is hugely encouraging for manufacturing in Herfordshire and UK manufacturing more generally.
“The Manufacturing Excellence programme is not just about celebrating manufacturing success around the country, but about providing practical advice for businesses to support them on their journey during these difficult economic times.”
While Bernard Waldron MBE, UK Manufacturing Director of MBDA said:
"Without our educational partnerships we would not have the calibre of people we have today and would not enjoy the success that our people bring to MBDA.”
MBDA, a world leader in missiles and missile systems, employs over 10,000 people in France, the UK, Italy and Germany and focuses heavily on promoting engineering in schools, colleges and universities.
The company is motivated to forge these links to attract more quality recruits and has developed highly effective apprenticeship and work experience schemes.
The company has forged strong links with schools and currently works with a total of 21 local primary and secondary schools.
The company offers work experience students the chance to compete for the government-funded Silver Crest Award, aimed at 14-16 year olds, to expand students’ knowledge of STEM subjects. MBDA also helps fund R&D research in a number of universities and sponsors its commercial apprentices through university, paying fees and providing a salary.
The company places a lot of trust and responsibility on its apprentices and the final presentation to Manufacturing Excellence judges, and much of the company assessment visit was led by four young people all under the age of 21.
Thanks in part to its efforts to forge links with education organisations, MBDA has demonstrated its ability to bring together the best skills across the whole of Europe, and has succeeded in becoming the prime contractor for a series of strategic multi-national programmes.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence programme is the most successful and long established manufacturing support programme in the UK, and the only one that provides a detailed benchmarking and assessment process to help improve manufacturing businesses.
As part of the Manufacturing Excellence programme, companies can get a free consultancy package worth £20,000. Companies that enter are asked to conduct an in-depth self assessment and those who complete one or more of the eight parts receive a free, bespoke and confidential benchmark report. The best companies in each module receive a free visit from a team of expert assessors who verify the audit responses and offer practical advice and suggestions for the business. The winning companies in each category then receive an award at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards.
Manufacturing Excellence is supported by PwC, Autodesk, PP Business Improvement, The ERA Foundation, Lombard, WMG, Arup, and Barclays Corporate.