Apprentices passionate about NDT at ‘Bridging the Skills Gap’ event
24/07/2019
Apprentices and employers who are already embracing the benefits of new apprenticeships in non-destructive testing (NDT) have spoken passionately to inspire other employers at the ‘Bridging the Skills Gap’ forum held on 15 May 2019.
The forum took place at the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre in Coventry and was co-hosted by Skills Training UK with the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) and specialist NDT training schools, including: TWI, IMechE Argyll Ruane, Lavender International, the South West School of NDT and the University of Northampton.
NDT is critical to industries such as manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, oil & gas and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors, but technological advances and ageing workforces have created massive skills gaps that pose a real threat to industry, which is why BINDT developed and launched new apprenticeships under the Trailblazer Apprenticeships programme.
The apprenticeships in Level 2 NDT Operator, Level 3 NDT Engineering Technician and Level 6 NDT Engineer have opened up many new opportunities for both light and heavy engineering and manufacturing sectors to bridge their skills gaps. They provide structured training and development, which is relevant to each industry and the skills they need.
Roger Lyon, Project Manager, Apprenticeships, BINDT, and Chair of the Education and Development Committee, BINDT, said at the Forum: “The NDT apprenticeships are designed to be very focused on any area. If you are a levy payer, then taking them up is the only way of getting your money back, and if you do not pay the levy, then you only pay 5% of the cost. It is a really good deal and they have opened up opportunities that industries such as aerospace, automotive and energy have never seen before.”
Gary Linford, an NDT apprentice at Responsive NDT, who did A-Levels but did not want to go to university, has become an ambassador for apprenticeships, with activities that include helping students at a local school with a robot-building project. He said: “My experience of the apprenticeship has been very good and I would encourage anyone to do it. I did not even know about NDT before I started but love it and I love the job. I cannot preach enough about it.”
Lee Grears, who is Managing Director at Responsive NDT and has 12 employees, four of whom are enrolled on apprenticeships in NDT with Skills Training UK, said: “Our apprentices are a key part of our business. As a small business we pay only 5% and the value of the training we are getting for our team overall is over £100,000. We need to shout about the changes that are happening with these new apprenticeships, which are helping develop new skills.”
Sam Cunningham, Materials Testing and NDT Manager, Skills Training UK, said: “Skills Training UK manages these apprenticeships as a lead provider and each of the specialist training partners offers something different by way of technical training in NDT methods, which means that whatever industry you are in, the apprenticeships in NDT provide the best opportunity to invest in your workforce and help bridge the skills gaps.”
Martin Dunford OBE, Chief Executive, Skills Training UK, gave the official welcome to guests at the event and said that Skills Training UK was ‘absolutely delighted’ with the level of collaboration with the partner training schools. Other speakers at the event included Jack Sharkey and Andrzej Zubcqyk, NDT Engineer apprentices at Rolls-Royce, Christian Beever, NDT Engineering Technician apprentice at IMechE Argyll Ruane and Steve Meikle, Inspection Group Strategic Improvement Lead at EDF Energy, which has employed an NDT Engineer apprentice.
www.skillstraininguk.com/materials-testing
