For years there have been serious concerns raised throughout UK manufacturing about the widening skills gap, with not enough new engineers entering the profession to fill the demand. In a survey of UK tech firms conducted by the IET last autumn, 60% said that they saw recruiting engineers as the primary obstacle to long-term growth. If the country is to bounce back after the economic slump that COVID-19 has caused, then addressing this issue is critical.
The importance of finding technically astute youngsters and transforming them into highly capable engineering professionals is something that has been at the heart of Prima Electronic Services for the three decades since it was established. Through grassroots investment and partnering directly with Cambridge Regional College, Prima has made significant updates to its two-year apprenticeship programme enabling young people to take their first steps into a career within manufacturing engineering.
The programme has been designed so that each apprentice gets to experience manufacturing engineering from several different perspectives. This means that they will have a more comprehensive appreciation of how the business works. This approach means they get the chance to find out exactly which job functions they have the most interest in and the particular aspect of engineering they may want to focus on in the future.
Prima apprentices gain experience in box build assembly, fault finding/debugging, functional testing, PCB layout, etc. They are taught how to operate surface-mount placement machinery, as well as learning best practices in X-ray inspection analysis and automated optical inspection (AOI) systems. In addition, the apprentices visit customer sites for exposure to different working environments and procedures. Each apprentice is given a personal project as part of their college coursework to develop key skills and they are also tasked with looking at ways to improve the processes in the Prima plant to increase productivity or reduce operational costs.
Apprentices that complete the Prima programme, gain a Level 3 qualification in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Cambridge Regional College with subsequent opportunity to gain an HND. The personal development prospects continue beyond the apprenticeship as Prima Employees can gain funding for further education.
In a time when prospects for UK school leavers are likely to be more limited than ever, manufacturers simply cannot cut corners on their apprentice training schemes. Prima believes It is imperative that, together, we provide an effective route into the engineering arena - so that the full potential of young people can be realised.
Made Futures was created to encourage people to get jobs in manufacturing, in support of those who have lost their jobs over the course of the 2020 pandemic. There's still time to sign up and be part of the exhibition by filling in the form here.