WEC’s Training Academy reaps the rewards!
AWFTE member WEC Group Ltd was recently rewarded for their commitment to their Apprenticeship scheme at the Lancashire Telegraph business awards where they won the coveted Training & Development award.
The judges of the awards were impressed by WEC’s commitment to their pioneering Welding & Engineering Training Academy that has already seen over 45 apprentices go through its doors in the past 5 years.
Most companies claim to have a commitment to training but few really walk the talk and set up their own academies. That is exactly what WEC Group did to address concerns over a shortage of recruits with top-class engineering skills.
The company having experienced substantial growth over the past few years, there was a constant need for skilled engineers to fill up the company’s vacancies, but bosses found that new starters lacked the necessary skills to manufacture to the standards required.
Then in 2006, Managing Director Steve Hartley decided to create the WEC Group Welding and Engineering Training Academy to provide a long-term solution to the problem.
The academy is not cheap – it costs £100,000-a-year to run – but it is now paying off.
As the only apprentice scheme of its type in the UK, the Training Academy has an excellent reputation and is held in high regard by the local community and educational institutions. A visit by the Prime Minister David Cameron in May 2010, further highlighted the importance of apprenticeships for the growth of the economy. Mr Cameron praised the apprenticeship scheme and WEC Group’s commitment to providing facilities and training, especially in the current economic climate where many businesses are withdrawing funding in this area.
The Training Academy receives a high number of applications every year for the 10 available places; over 100 applicants for 2010-2011 programme. Via a rigorous selection process, candidates are not only assessed on their qualifications, but also on their natural ability for engineering; apparent by the examples of work candidates are asked to bring with them. The 12 month apprenticeship scheme, part of a 5 year apprenticeship, has historically trained individuals between the ages of 16-21. However, the current recession has seen applicants 21+ apply, looking to learn a new trade and turning the negative of redundancy into a positive.
The WEC Training Academy has recently been awarded certification to deliver the NVQ Diploma in-house and the new influx of 2010-2011 students will be the first to benefit. Apprentices spend four days carrying out practical work at the Training Academy and one day learning the theoretical side of welding and fabrication.
Kris Mercer, who is responsible for the academy, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won the Training & Development award, as it is a sign that all the hard work and money we have invested in creating a new generation of engineers was the right thing to do”.
Mr Mercer is 100% dedicated to ensuring apprentices gain the relevant skills and qualifications during their time in the Training Academy. The apprentices have access to the latest state of the art welding equipment to enable them to achieve these skills
The academy trains recruits from September to August, with apprentices eventually attaining NVQ3 level and a City and Guilds qualification.
The graduates are then placed with one of WEC’s eight companies, based in Darwen, Blackburn or Merseyside, while Mr Mercer checks on their progress on a regular basis.
In four years the academy has seen 45 applicants pass through its doors, most teenagers but some aged as old as 30.
In Mr Mercer’s view the academy has more than begun justifying its running costs.
He continues: “We are the only welding company in the country doing this and we have got other companies interested because it’s an idea that really works.”
ENDS______
Notes to the editor:
From left to right: Steve Hartley (WEC Managing Director), Kris Mercer (instructor), and Steve Collier (Director of Cobham Defence Communications)