FUTURE-FOCUSED - ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING APPRENTICESHIPS ARE CHANGING, AND WE ARE READY
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
By: Sarah Walker, Aycliffe Business Magazine
Picture: Chris Booth
NC Group seizes the opportunity to train future engineers and manufacturing apprentices.
NC Group is embracing apprenticeship reforms to support major employers across Aycliffe Business Park, as they train the workforce of the future.
Recent Government changes to the way apprenticeships are funded put the focus on training young people aged 16 to 24, presenting an opportunity to inspire the next generation of engineers and maintenance technicians.
This is an area where NC Group is already leading the way, with its engineering academy giving young trainees and apprentices real-world practical experience that goes beyond just classroom theory.
Engineering and Manufacturing Apprenticeships for the Workforce of the Future
The group has invested tens of thousands of pounds in the new setting, including new equipment, which mirrors industry environments by major park employers like 3M, Gestamp, Ineos and Ricor.
The academy also enables NC to offer employers assessment centres for new apprentices and recruitment, where candidates can be assessed on-site to showcase their natural abilities in a real-life manufacturing plant.
Liam Noble, managing director of NC Group, says: “With the apprenticeship reforms now focused on encouraging 16 to 24-year-olds to take up apprenticeships, NC Group is well placed and ready to support major employers across Aycliffe Business Park and beyond with training their workforce of the future.
“Supporting the younger generation into our engineering apprenticeships is what we already do well as a business, and it is very popular, especially for September starts.
“A lot of our future planning is going to be around training the engineers and maintenance technicians of the future.”
NC Group’s engineering academy has significantly further advanced what NC Group can deliver as a business when it comes to its engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships.
“Our headquarters services and houses a technical centre for elements of engineering workshops, and the academy, which is now in a separate unit to the main NC Group building, supports skills for the future,” says Liam.
“We have been able to adapt this unit into something where we have been able to completely replicate the industry environment apprentices will be working within.
“And by investing as much as we possibly can into ensuring our new academy is of the highest quality, we are making sure that our apprentices get real-world experience.”
Ian Nelson, founding co-director of NC Group, which is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, added: “Even though apprenticeships are in the process of changing, NC Group is ready for these changes and already equipped to support employers on the park, whether for traditional September starts or flexible starts outside of traditional academic term times. Everything is designed for your team – new or experienced.
“It is pleasing to see that the Government is investing in young people and our training academy in the park is available now, with everything that is needed to equip those young people for work and meet the real needs of employers,” Ian said.
“Some employers traditionally prefer candidates with more lived experience when hiring, and NC Group leads the way with upskilling existing talent, but as apprenticeships are evolving and by partnering with our academy, we’re able to equip young school and college leavers with valuable real-world experience – helping employers feel more confident and inspired to welcome the next generation of apprentices.”
When it comes to meeting employers’ needs, NC Group always tailors training plans and apprenticeship programmes to suit the exact requirements of a particular business, adapting them so they are bespoke and reflect a particular employer’s unique working environments, needs and wants.
“Our flexibility and the practical training we provide in year one are our main strengths,” Ian said.
“Although the core parts of a course might be the same, no two courses we deliver for different employers are exactly alike, as there will be distinct differences that benefit a particular business – something that employers in the park really appreciate.”
Apprenticeships in level 3 engineering maintenance technician – single discipline, level 3 engineering maintenance technician – dual discipline, level 3 engineering and manufacturing support technicians and level 3 process improvement technicians are among the wide range of programmes that NC Group is providing now.
To learn more about our engineering and manufacturing apprenticeship programmes in the North East, contact 01388 737121 or email training@ncgroupltd.co.uk.
