As a provider of maintenance solutions for clients in the oil & gas, water and power generation industries, Sulzer is keen to maintain its knowledge base and also train new talent for the future. In Birmingham the apprentice programme has been running for over five years and it has produced several qualified engineers that have taken up full time positions within the business.
"The industry in general is in very short supply of electrical repair capability as apprenticeships in the late 80's basically became a thing of the past and this has created the current skill gap," said Dan Moore, Operations Management Team - Traction Department. "The apprentice programme is essential for the continuity of the business and finding the right candidates is essential; we are looking for people who have an aptitude for electrical and mechanical repairs and want to get their hands dirty."
The Birmingham Service Centre works with its training partner, In-Comm, and a training academy that offers a range of development programmes delivered in a real working environment. The apprentices study a framework which has been developed by Sulzer's technical team, in consultation with In-Comm and the skills council that oversees the relevant NVQ programme.
The course takes four years, covering the basics of mechanical engineering in the first year before getting hands-on experience in the second in departments such as Mechanical, Rewinds, High Voltage Coils and Traction after which there will be an assessment.
The apprentices then spend six months in the department that best suited their skills from year two; there will also be an assessment to make it through to the fourth year where it will be clear which department will be most suitable to the candidate after a number of reviews and the natural electrical or mechanical bias of the apprentice. The next twelve months will be spent gaining more experience and learning more complex skills in the final department.
Moore concluded: "The apprenticeship programme has been designed to meet the needs of our diverse range of businesses, from small to medium electrical machines to large scale mechanical engineering.
"With such a shortage of engineers in the UK, both male and female, we are looking for four new apprentices to start in September, with three of them preferring the electrical side of the business and one to learn a range of mechanical skills. Each applicant will be assessed independently and we would welcome anyone interested in this sector to apply."
