Six new apprentices are set to gain hands-on experience as they earn NVQ3 engineering qualifications as part of AIM Altitude’s apprenticeship scheme. An accompanying college course – which Terry Bennett, training manager at AIM Altitude, has helped to shape – is run at Bournemouth and Poole College in the UK.
“The college now offers megatronics,” said Bennett. “This course is half electrical and half engineering, where previously, one or other skill was learned. This caused issues with process flow on the shop floor with engineers having to wait for electricians to become available, and vice versa. Merging engineering and electrical seemed to me a clear opportunity for improvement and the college was very happy to adapt the training syllabus accordingly.”
AIM Altitude offers around six apprenticeships each year. “This is a qualification and set of skills that a person will carry with them for life, opening endless opportunities,” said Bennett, who completed an apprenticeship with the Royal Navy. “To learn a trade is very important and engineering is the key to everything. It is the hands-on experience that is vital and highly valued by businesses. Someone with a qualification alone will not have the same expertise as someone who has the skills learned during an apprenticeship.”
September 28, 2017
