Addressing the skills gap – investing in our next generation of engineers

AE Aerospace is on an impressive growth trajectory. Our new factory is four times the size of our previous facility and we now have capacity to deliver an ambitious expansion programme. These are exciting times but how do we ensure our workforce can grow with us? We now employ 61 people and we anticipate that our workforce will exceed 100 within three years. We’re investing significant time and money training people across departments to support the business as it moves forward and ensure we have the necessary skills to deliver our strategic vision.

As a nation we’ve not done a good job at addressing misconceptions around engineering and manufacturing. For young people about to embark on their future careers, this vital sector of the economy doesn’t have the status it deserves. We’re two or three generations too late in tackling the problem and now have a lot of work to do in persuading people that manufacturing can offer them a rewarding career.

STEM Challenge

It must start with children. Unfortunately, parents, the media and schools have been given the wrong information and do not appear to be educating young people about what STEM has to offer. Too many are under the illusion that we don’t make anything in this country anymore and that there aren’t good jobs to be had in manufacturing. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

We all have to play our part in demonstrating that Britain is still a world leader in manufacturing and that there are huge opportunities to come and work at the forefront of new ideas, technology and innovation.

We have committed to engaging with the next generation through the STEM Challenge. For the second year running, The Express & Star newspaper is running an initiative to encourage young engineers across the Black Country and Staffordshire. By forging links between schools and local businesses, the challenge aims to provide pupils with an insight into the world of industry and demonstrate what opportunities are on offer.

There are 21 schools signed up to the challenge, with each one partnered with an industry mentor. We have signed up to work with six year 8 students from Bristnall Hall Academy. The all-girl team is being mentored by our Engineering Manager, Dean Thomas.

The pupils are making a portable water filtration system and Dean is with the team every two weeks to offer his advice and guidance. The team will then demonstrate its working model at a presentation in July.

Our input will help enrich the school’s curriculum and get students excited about a career in STEM. For AE Aerospace, we hope that with more young people switched on to a career in engineering, we can ensure that in the future we have access to a more diverse pool of talent.

Apprenticeships

Everyone in the manufacturing sector has a duty to inspire and train tomorrow’s workers. How else are we going to address the skills gap? There isn’t a magic skills tree we can pick them from.

The government’s approach to apprenticeships has come under a lot of scrutiny recently, especially the Apprenticeship Levy. Systems and initiatives around skills provision are constantly changing and there will always be conflicting opinions about how to boost the uptake of apprenticeships. All we can do is work hard at securing our own supply of skills and making the appropriate investment in training and development.

At AE Aerospace, we have a very positive attitude to apprenticeships. We work with two providers, Make UK and Birmingham-based LEMA (Lean Engineering and Manufacturing Academy). We currently have four apprentices on the programmes, with a further two to be recruited this year.

Our new apprentice training programme will see our latest production apprentices spend 3 months in each of our six sections, including Engineering & Quality before a combined decision is made on which area they will ultimately work in.

Alongside the recognised apprenticeship programmes, we train our Improvers. Theses are a group of youngsters who recently joined the business with an existing skill and are trained in specific roles. They work alongside experienced engineers to benefit from their insight and expertise.

Valuing learning

It is also critical that we continually up-skill our exiting workforce. The business is evolving so rapidly that staff need to adapt in learning new skills, training to use new machines and getting to grips with the latest manufacturing techniques. We are currently committed to delivering a minimum of 10 hours training per employee per year, either delivered in-house or through our machine provider Mazak.

Of course, all this comes at a cost. The expense is really the hours we spend training people in our way of doing things. But, done correctly, that investment pays dividends. We can demonstrate that engineering offers a well-paid stable and varied career.

Our apprentices and staff value the culture we have developed, where learning is for life and there is always something new to discover. With that mindset, everyone is prepared to journey with us on our next stage of growth.