Engineering Success?

Within the Engineering and Manufacturing Sectors, Apprenticeships are a familiar concept. I speak with employers regularly who likely started out as an Apprentice themselves and who almost certainly have recruited them in the past.

Yet hiring a new Apprentice, especially in the post-Covid world is sometimes met with some hesitance; although employers do 99% of time admit that their workforce is edging ever closer to retirement. There's an evident skills gap and the worry that these industry skills may be lost forever if 'fresh blood' isn't brought in to absorb. Ever curious as to what I can do to assure employers that an Apprentice is likely a key (and necessary) investment for their business, industry and future workforce I've decided to write (or attempt!) this blog.

￡6.1m investment to becoming leading Advanced Manufacturing Centre

With the recent announcement of Hopwood Hall’s ￡6.1million Technology Centre extension it's an exciting time for Rochdale and beyond. Becoming an Advanced Manufacturing Centre designed to meet the needs of local and regional employers and aligning with the AMPI skills pipeline.

Ever the opportunist I would encourage my LinkedIn (and hopefully beyond) contacts to use this time to consider your current skills and training needs but also what do these look like in 5 or 10 years time? We're keen to have these conversations whether over Teams (please let me have the opportunity to do my 'Teams' face and hair first as one has become accustomed) or when safe to do so, let me visit so you can shout about what you do well and tour your facility, workshop, shopfloor.

Historically, Hopwood Hall may not have been the first place you thought of if you were looking to train or recruit a new Apprentice. You may be happy with your current provider and that's great to hear; ultimately we're here to best serve our local community, employers, learners, current and future workforce. Our offer has started small; our focus is on quality; to employers and Apprentices. I think that's important. We work with some fantastic employers who can certainly testify to this approach:

"Louise & Hopwood college have done an excellent job over the last 2 years on helping msm on recruiting students to become full time apprenticeship within the aerospace industry.

The help and support they offered was exceptional and recently  provided us with two outstanding students for work experience for 3 months  this benefited both students and us to ensure we made right choice for recruitment.

Without this recruitment process and the support from Louise & the team we wouldn’t have found (apprentice) and given the opportunity to become full time apprentice."  Nigel, MSM Aerospace

I suppose, I'm asking employers to consider looking beyond the "we've always used...." and consider Hopwood. Have a conversation. Myself and Chris (Engineering Work Based Tutor) are both genuinely passionate about what we do; not only about supporting employers but also helping aspiring engineers start their career journeys.

Apprenticeship Incentives extended

Incentives, funding. recruitment, training can be a minefield. It's my job to help employers navigate this training/skills/qualifications/apprenticeship landscape......; all of it. For those that don't know me; I'm honest to a fault (maybe it's the Boltonian in me!) I couldn't spin a yarn if I tried. But hey, I'll tell you truthfully whether we can facilitate your needs and if we can't I will certainly try my best to signpost to someone who can.

Announced yesterday; the UK Government will extend and increase the payments made to employers who hire new apprentices. You will receive ￡3000 for hiring a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021. This is in addition to the existing ￡1,000 payment the government provides for all new 16 to 18 year old apprentices. I don't want any employer to simply recruit an Apprentice to benefit from this incentive; it's a bigger commitment than that. However, considering the costs associated with any new starter (see I told you I was honest to a fault) this incentive will certainly go some way to cover these whether it's covering staff training costs, PPE etc.

Being a FE College we have a talent pool of learners. Within Engineering most of these learners are looking for employers to start their career with. Could this be you? With 1 or 2 years workshop experience (within college) these learners are potentially just the fresh talent you need for you business. Get in touch if you're interested in work trials/interviews. 

Hopwood Hall College is making a firm commitment to support the local community through the launch of its ‘Build Back Better’ pledge. This is a written declaration to work in partnership with industry sectors to provide access to the highest quality of training to meet the needs of employers.

The pledge – which is endorsed by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency – features a charter of promises to work with businesses and help the area recover from the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. You can see details on the link below.

I'm going to sign off now otherwise I could be here all night. I plan to follow with more in the coming weeks. If I could leave you with one last thought; the skills gap can be addressed....partnership between employers and education. Hopefully you consider Hopwood Hall but please consider someone.

Adios.

Louise