The week started with the launch of EngTechNow - first announced by the Prime Minister last summer - a new campaign to increase the numbers of Engineering Technicians backed by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and other professional engineering institutions, with the aim of increasing the professional status of Engineering Technicians, who play a crucial hands-on role in engineering in the UK.
It is clear that apprenticeships schemes are evolving to meet the employers’ skills needs, and the apprentices are flourishing. This was underlined at the end of the week, when the Automotive Trailblazers were invited to Downing Street, to celebrate their success at moving to a more employer led apprenticeship.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers supports individuals and companies to ensure they both benefit from apprenticeship schemes. Over 40% of newly registered Engineering Technicians are registered with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The Institution actively recognises and rewards outstanding apprentices.
Lynsey McKee: the Institution of Mechanical Engineer's Apprentice of the Year
Lynsey is an inspiring apprentice and an IMechE EngTech affiliate member. She undertook her apprenticeship at Doosan Babcock in Renfrew, and is now a trainee CAD Technologist. Here, we find out more about her.
Why did you join Doosan Babcock?
I knew that they were a good company; they have a great reputation in the area. They are a global company with a good apprenticeship scheme and a diverse mix of opportunities.
Where did you study?
I studied for my HNC in Mechanical Engineering at Reid Kerr College in Paisley. I am now in my second year of an honours degree in ‘Mechanical Electronic Systems Engineering’ at Glasgow Caledonian University.
What was your reaction when you were told you were the winner for Apprentice of the Year award?
I couldn’t believe it when I found out I had won. My letter had been sent home, but I found out at work from my mentor who had received the letter in the office. I was over the moon, it was great for my company and for me personally. It was really nice that my whole team were pleased and proud.
What is your typical day like?
My work day starts at 8.00am, and I am typically working on drawings to pass to procurement and manufacturing. If necessary, I do site visits. I love design and draughting and the day flies past, which must be a sign that I am enjoying myself. My team get on well together; it makes you want to go to work.
What sort of projects are you working on at the moment?
Currently I am working with the Boiler Spares department where we are implementing on a new procurement system, so I am working on the purchasing requirements. Once the system is more widely used, I will help train other staff.
What other roles do you have within Doosan Babcock?
I enjoy mentoring apprentices in the year below, supporting them as they juggle their studies and busy workload. I also promote engineering and the company at school career events, where I explain what the job really involves and hopefully get them interested.
Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
I knew people who had completed apprenticeships and felt that this route would suit me better than full time university. I have gained good practical knowledge and extensive work experience, by learning and earning.
What are your career aspirations – where do you see yourself in the next 5 and 10 years?
I would like to complete my degree, and specialise in design and research of combustion. I’m not sure whether I am interested in a managerial career route, I enjoy what I am doing.
Who is your inspiration?
I am a great fan of Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud is really passionate about his subject, and knows a lot about it. He is brilliant at explaining the technical aspects of the buildings and making it fascinating.
Is there any current engineering project that you wish you could have played a part in?
I am fascinated by the buildings in Dubai, particularly the Burj Khalifa. It is amazing the change that has taken place in such a short time, and the tallest building is awe inspiring.
Farming and fishing apprentices in the North East
Hartlepool College of Further Education has recently been approved by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for its apprentice training.
Graham Plant, Business Development Manager at the College, says that: “The approval is important in strengthening apprenticeship training in this area – companies want our training to be approved as it is now by a professional body and it is attractive to the students, who have a range of training options open to them.”
With a legacy of heavy engineering and current global engineering giants such as Tata Steel, Caterpillar, Esterline, Gestamp Tallent and NSK there is a strong precedence for apprenticeships as the route for able young engineers to enter the workforce. There are a number of further education providers and training organisations vying to attract the best students and equip them for a successful engineering career.
There are also many smaller and medium sized companies that are looking to find bright young engineers, and colleges like Hartlepool are there to assist in sourcing funding for the companies. Companies are also working with further education providers to develop courses that suit their potential employees. Hartlepool College of Further Education aims to serve both these markets and place as many of its learners into employment as possible.
In an area where there are more young people wanting to do apprenticeships than there are available places, a two track approach evolves: ‘farming and fishing’ as Graham Plant calls it. The companies with formal apprentice training schemes identify candidates to come and work for them, and fund their training. They are given the specific training that the company needs, with relevant industrial back up. The students are effectively cultivated from day one: ‘farmed’ from school into the regular work force. Students not lucky enough to be included in that process can still embark on apprenticeships.
Graham Plant is keen to point out that: “Hartlepool College aims to accommodate all applicants to a college programme, put them in at the right level and support them in their choice. A year or two into their courses local employers will come ‘fishing’ from the pool of talent to identify those that would best suit their business. This route is cheaper for the companies, and arguably lower risk as they are able to make their choice with more mature and trained apprentices.”
It is clear that appropriate levels of government funding for young people is still required to make sure that they can all do an apprenticeship if they want to. Then it is in the hands of the young people to prove their technical skills and competences. “Many of the local “captains of industry” have come through the apprentice route,” comments Plant, “it is a proven route to a successful engineering career.”
How Superior Seals is nurturing its own future
If your business requires high levels of technical skills and engineering competence, and you are struggling to find enough high calibre engineers, then you could try running your own apprenticeship scheme. Superior Seals, on the Ferndown Industrial Estate in Dorset, has done just that. Superior’s Engineering Technology Apprenticeship Scheme offers young people from the age of 16 an opportunity to learn about tool-making, maintenance, operations and product development – and has the backing of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
They have 17 students currently in their apprenticeship scheme, and are recruiting at least five students a year. Jim O’Neil, Superior’s Head of Training says: “Our people are trained, motivated and supported to take ownership of tasks, processes and specific responsibilities. We believe that we must invest now for the future, by recruiting new people to be trained in the workplace so that we can ‘grow our own timber’. This is the heart of the Superior Academy Scheme."
By training in-house Superior can ensure that the right skills are developed, to match the current and future needs of the business. They use their own qualified trainers and instil the company culture and values: a 'can do' mentality and a belief in the importance of putting the customer first.
Future plans include the possibility of creating a 'junior-factory' which aims to replicate the main company, which will allow the apprentices to work in all areas and functions of the business and really understand how the company runs. The holistic approach is already paying dividends with apprentices working in all parts of the business – from sales to tool making. The workforce of 172 people is right behind the scheme, as it demonstrates Superior’s commitment to the future growth and investment in the future. The scheme is also financially viable, as the apprentices do an increasing amount of “real” work as their experience grows, giving an increasing return on investment.
Jim O’Neil reflects that: “We’ve worked hard to produce a scheme that gives young people a really decent and traditional grounding in Engineering Technology and it is very satisfying to have the scheme endorsed by the IMechE. We hope that it will encourage our present, hardworking apprentices and help to encourage future apprentices to join us.” This is obviously the case, with 70 applications for just 5 places last year. Superior people have an extraordinary team spirit, taking pleasure in delighting customers and providing a service which exceeds expectations – a culture that is being passed on to the new apprentices.
How Cornwall College Group is evolving to meet local demand
Engineering in Cornwall is slowly changing. The mining has declined, but the docks remain, and high tech manufacturing is expanding. The further education colleges are supporting their local companies and helping to ensure a supply of well qualified young engineers in this dynamic environment. A&P, at the Falmouth docks, is a big engineering presence in Cornwall. They use Cornwall College to train their apprentices. Cornwall College currently has 571 engineering apprentices in training.
Another big player is Pendennis, the super yacht manufacturer. They have just invested over £23 million in new manufacturing facilities, and so are looking to strengthen their links with Cornwall College to help train up new apprentices. Over the last nine years they have had 160 Apprentices, three of whom have been placed as winner or runners up in the prestigious Queens Silver Medal awards from the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights.
On a recent open day Pendennis had more than 220 young people braving awful storms to learn about the company, which has already had more than 120 applicants for their 12 – 14 apprentice places next year. Pendennis don’t just want mechanical engineers, welders, electrical engineers or furniture makers out of their apprentice scheme, they need flexible, skilled engineers with a range of competencies. So the first year is spent doing a general engineering course, so that the apprentices fully understand each trade area. Then the higher apprenticeship allows the apprentices to move into an area of specialisation.
Cornwall College are supporting this; Ed Hornagold, Deputy Head of Engineering and Automotive, says that: “The College are working closely with the employers to develop bespoke training that fits everybody’s needs.”
In an area with a multitude of small companies, the Cornwall Manufacturing Group has brought together more than 35 of them and has been defining the apprenticeship that they need for their companies now and in the future. With a combined workforce of 3,500 employees and sales over £500 million they are no longer companies needing just traditional engineering skills; they need flexible engineers with business skills and an innovative mindset. Cornwall College has successfully bid to deliver this training for the Group, and Ed Hornagold, Deputy Head of Engineering and Automotive thinks that: “Other employers will move to this model as apprentices increasingly have to be flexible in which areas they work in, and must have an understanding and knowledge of all functions within their companies.”
Trailblazers: employer-led Apprenticeships are celebrated
The Trailblazers were invited to Downing Street, to recognise the work that has been done, sector by sector, in updating and improving apprenticeships. The Richards Review of Apprenticeships recommended an improvement in the quality and rigour of the courses, and importantly, more responsiveness to the employers’ needs. So with that in mind, the Government launched Trailblazers to test the concept and to create models of effective practice, before full adoption in 2017/18. It is hoped that better and more relevant apprenticeship training will encourage more employers to take on apprentices, and address the skills shortages being experienced in many companies.
The automotive and aerospace sectors have been particularly energetic in developing their apprenticeships. Taking the best from the training schemes already in operation, and combining that with behavioural skills and ensuring that it maps onto the EngTech criteria, the industry has developed a common approach that can be used by manufacturers and suppliers alike. The common industry approach is all the more admirable, in such a competitive market.
Ed Hansom from the Institution, who hosted an informal breakfast at One Birdcage Walk for the Trailblazers before their visit to Downing Street, said: “I am pleased to report that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers is more focused on EngTechs than ever before, both in recognising their contribution and celebrating their success.”
Apprentices from Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Siemens, Vauxhall, Ford Motor Company and more, were thrilled to be visiting Downing Street. Most were in the third year of their apprenticeships, and were moving from the classroom based learning to almost exclusively practical hands-on work.
Richard Hunt, from Ford, completed an automotive degree, and struggled to get work. He eventually got a place on the Ford apprenticeship scheme and has enjoyed the learning and is pleased to have the security of a job. He feels that after school it was assumed that he would go to university, but in fact the apprenticeship has been a much more useful stepping stone to a career in engineering.
Louise Munn, a maintenance engineer at JLR in Solihull, spent 6 years working in a legal company, before she decided she needed a career change. The only way to make that change, financially, was via an apprenticeship. She describes her current job as: “The best I’ve ever done. I love coming to work!”
Alan Fitzgibbon, a multi-skilled maintenance engineer from Vauxhall describes how he was: “The only one of my friends who didn’t go to university, but none of them are working in the area that they studied. But as an apprentice I have three years’ practical experience, which is the most valuable thing in today’s job market.”
Companies are increasingly training their own workforce, to make sure they have the right skills for the future. So having an apprenticeship that puts employers in the driving seat to deliver the skills that businesses and learners need to work effectively is definitely the way forward. Peter Winebloom, Apprentices and Skills Director from the EEF, who has been ensuring that the SMEs perspective is included, describes the Trailblazers as: “Government putting apprenticeships back in the hands of employers”. He thinks that the support of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has been helpful, and that it will be good for the apprenticeships to be linked to the EngTech registration.
Ian Eva, an HR manager from Jaguar Land Rover, who has been actively involved in pushing the Trailblazers programme in the automotive sectors, thanked everyone involved in the programme, and looked forward to the roll out of the next phase.
To get support for your apprenticeship scheme, please visit http://www.imeche.org/apprentices or contact Paul Tabern the Institution’s Business Development Manager for EngTechs and apprentices: bdm@imeche.org