Apprentices - The Next Generation Of Engineers

Why investing in the engineering workforce of the future has always been Bott’s key to longevity and success.

Here at Bott we’ve always been passionate about investing in our apprenticeships with just over 20% of our current workforce benefitting from various schemes that we have run through the years.  Many of our longest servicing employees, who have been with us a good 20-30 years, have successfully risen up the corporate ladder from apprentice to high level management and executive level positions. I myself am one.

So, what exactly are apprenticeships and why do Bott invest so much time into fostering our supply line into them?  The idea of apprenticeships is sewn into the very fabric of our manufacturing culture in the UK. Back in the 12th century, parents would enter a contract with a local craftsman whereby their youngster would work for him in exchange for skills-based training. The City and Guilds of London Institute began offering apprenticeships in the 1870s and in so doing, successfully created a supply of young people seeking work-based, high-value learning. This in turn, resulted in a workforce possessing a high degree of transferable skills and knowledge. The idea evolved through the decades with apprenticeships schemes thriving up until the dawn of the Thatcher years in the 1980s. This decade saw a sharp decline in apprentice numbers in conjunction with the demise of the manufacturing industry. As the communication and technology sectors rose to prominence and University degrees came to the fore numbers, numbers continued to fall.

In 1994, the UK Government introduced the ‘Modern Apprenticeships’ programme, based on today’s Sector Skills Councils framework.  In 2009, the National Apprenticeship Service was founded and in 2015 the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced to attract more employers to adopt the scheme. In recent years there’s been an increasing range and diversity of apprenticeships, spanning not just the original engineering and construction trades but also media, law, IT, communications and health and fitness.  This, coupled with the lack of degree level jobs, spiraling student loans and Brexit fear-mongering, has made the humble apprenticeship the secure, potentially higher paid career path of choice. Figures now suggest that many graduates are also going on to become apprentices after obtaining their degrees.  In 2016, 44 per cent of apprenticeship starts were for people aged 25 or over compared to 30 per cent of 19-24 year old’s and 26 per cent of under 19s.

If ever there was a flagship for the success of the apprenticeship scheme, it would be Bott. Apprenticeships have been at the core of our business model for decades and we’ve benefitted from them for over half a century, through good times and through bad. What are these benefits and what is the secret of our success and longevity? Well, let’s cover some basics:-   

Firstly, we find that apprenticeship schemes increase our employee retention rate. We invest in our apprentice’s future, nurturing their work ethic and helping them to develop their job and life-skills. In return, our trainees become increasingly committed to our organisation, developing a positive attitude to their career progress which induces a healthy work ethic and a keen loyalty to our company. This combination of positive attributes fully integrates them into the long-term future of the business. They provide a fresh perspective and bring modern ideas and innovations into the working of our company, helping us to remain at the forefront of ideas.

It’s also worth mentioning that there’s is a huge lack of degree-level jobs in this area of North Cornwall. Much of the work that is available is seasonal, low paid and zero-contract with job security depending purely on fluctuating tourist numbers. As one of Bude’s largest employers, we feel a strong sense of duty to our local community in creating great working opportunities, financial security and a clear, progressive career path for all our youngsters and local workforce.  It’s not a selfless act, knowing that we have the next generation of engineers - both male and female - trained and ready to take over the reins, makes good business sense.  

Our apprentices are also key in helping us to develop our talent resources in-house, enabling us to quickly fill skill shortages with quality staff. They also close the skills gap as we’re able to train people for specific areas within the manufacturing process, thereby providing us with the skills we need, when we need them. Apprentices also free up our experienced employees, enabling them to concentrate on primary responsibilities as well as up-skill opportunities that increase productivity. According to the National Apprenticeship Services, a typical apprentice delivers productivity gains of over £10,000 annually, and I believe it. It truly is a win, win.

Finally, we find that running a successful apprenticeship scheme strengthens our brand, not just locally in Bude, North Cornwall and the South West, but within the manufacturing world as a whole. Any company successfully running an apprenticeship programme is viewed as a forward-thinking employer so this always increases our attraction rates amongst employees as a whole. 

So, having hopefully convinced you of the many benefits of apprenticeships, how do I recommend that you source them?

At Bott, we make it a point to be as interactive as possible within our community and schools.  A force for good if you like. These guys are our recruitment pool and so they’re of prime importance to us, especially as Bude is such a remote rural town, with no railways and few major traffic arteries. 

I’m passionate about this educational work, not only because I’ve lived the apprentice’s ‘journey’ and am testament to its success, but also, as a father, I too want the best future for my kids and their peers here in the South West.

As an Enterprise Adviser and STEM Ambassador, I regularly visit Cornish schools and colleges to meet with students and explore the exciting opportunities that a career in engineering can provide. I try to make this as fun, innovative and interactive as possible. Many have no idea how creative and expansive the engineering industry can be.  We devise games like the Spaghetti Tower, Marshmallow Challenge to really get their minds exploring solutions in a fun way.  For the uninitiated, this is a game whereby students are asked to build a tower with 20 sticks of spaghetti and a marshmallow.  The results are intriguing, but often it is the process by which the children work together and progress as a group which is most revealing.  I also try to bust the myth that engineering is predominantly a male industry.  Increasingly more and more girls are showing a keen and creative interest in pursuing a career in engineering and it is they that show the greatest talent in ‘thinking outside the box’, communicating their ideas and working as a group when faced with some of these interactive activities. It really is all about breaking down barriers.

We also have a work experience programme with Budehaven School as they are our primary supply chain, so we follow the success of our students with interest. We are currently involved with The Greenpower Car Project with Budehaven School, offering industry insight and advice to the students, helping them to explore fresh concepts and ideas for improvement. Classes will also come to visit the workshops and we make it a point to ask the students as many questions as possible. We are here to engage with them, break the ice and ignite their imaginations whilst also instilling self-confidence through the exploration of their ideas. That’s what engineering is all about - thinking creatively, finding solutions, and having the confidence in your ideas to know that anything is possible.      

Career and educational events are additional high priority diary dates.  It’s really good for the company to get out there and into the career arena.  One of our most important career shows is the annual Cornwall Skills Show.  This is the perfect environment to interact and effectively engage with students from around the South West.  Over 3,000 students attended this year’s show and it’s a great forum to showpiece engineering careers and educate students and teachers alike. 

Our team are there to inspire the students and help them to uncover what they’d like to do in the future. We plan and create interactive activities like the bi-plane model where students are given a bi-plane to fold and construct from a flat mild steel template (punched and painted in our factory) - it’s amazing to watch them as they work it out.

Karl Davis is one of our apprentices who has come from Budehaven School. Karl was keen to attend the show, help out on the stand and meet the students.  He says, “It was really great to be asked to be an ambassador for the company. I felt honoured that they had such confidence in me.  I’ve got a tremendous amount of loyalty to Bott - they’ve trained me up, developed my career strengthened m life skills and now trust me enough to go out and talk to students about my career.”

Karl continues,” I guess I’m like many of these students at the show.  I loved practical work like carpentry and was always looking at ingenious ways of providing solutions to DIY projects, but I had no idea what I wanted to do as an actual career.   I heard about the apprenticeship through my Dad who was working here - Bude is such a small place. I jumped at the opportunity especially as it was close to home. l’ve loved the whole experience, including working with my team members.  If I had one piece of advice for students, it would be to keep your options open and get a job where you love what you do, just like me.”

I think Karl sums it up better than I ever could and with endorsements like this, I foresee that Bott will be backing the apprenticeship scheme for many years to come.

Simon Willshire - Design Manager, Bott Ltd. 

More Information:-

Apprentices: https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice

South West Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network: https://www.southwestaan.com

Business West: https://www.businesswest.co.uk/grow/skills/apprenticeships

South West Apprenticeship Company: https://theswac.org.uk

Careers and Enterprise - Enterprise Adviser: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/enterprise-adviser-network-register

STEM Ambassadors: https://www.stem.org.uk

Cornwall Skills Show: https://www.careershubcios.co.uk/events/cornwall-skills-show/