North East Siemens apprentices return from Germany

Eight North East apprentices have returned from Germany after putting their skills to the test at a global manufacturing facility.

The students, who are signed up to manufacturing and engineering courses with leading training provider S. W. Durham Training (SWDT) Ltd, undertook a 17-day exchange programme, working with Siemens in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, to learn first-hand how the world-leading producer of turbo sets, steam turbines and generators works.

The learners, who are employed by businesses across the North East including Mitre Plastics, vegetarian food producer Quorn and ADMR Electric Motor Rewinds, visited Germany on March 3 to partake in the exchange, where they learned more about advanced manufacturing and undertook computer aided design (CAD) training programmes.

Nigel Davison, centre coordinator at SWDT, who organised the exchange, the Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo Mobility programme – now in its eleventh year – said that it represented a unique opportunity for the young apprentices to gain the technical and life skills needed to succeed in their career.

He said: “SWDT prides itself in building quality partnerships with overseas institutes and has achieved an excellent reputation throughout the regions in which it operates.

“Siemens is renowned as one of the world’s most innovative and successful businesses, so the fact that our young apprentices have the chance to travel over to Germany and find out more about the cutting edge techniques they put in place is fantastic.

“The project is doing a remarkable job in transforming students who take part in it, however it is about much more than improving their technical skills and is a chance for each of them to gain invaluable life skills, including learning the foundations of a new language, that will set them apart when they embark upon their respective careers.”

As part of the Erasmus+ Project, 25 second year apprentices from Germany will visit the North East to learn more about UK manufacturing in August. The group, made up of 25 second year apprentices from Siemens, will visit SWDT’s multi-million-pound Newton Aycliffe CORE Centre from August 8 until August 29 to learn about the North East’s growing engineering sector.

The exchange programme is designed to get their apprentices thinking about the opportunities that exist in manufacturing on a global scale.

Trevor Alley, chief executive of the 46 year old training company, said: “The Leonardo Project has been invaluable and provided the apprentices with an excellent opportunity to discover first-hand how their skills can be transferred to businesses right around the globe.

“The North East really is a hotbed for manufacturing and engineering, but we want to broaden the horizons of our young people and show them that their learning can be applied to businesses around the world, not just in the UK. Many of our former apprentices have gone on to have a career that takes them right around the world, so it really is an eye-opening experience for our young people.”

He added: “The quality of the engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships we provide from our CORE facility are absolutely at the cutting-edge, and the young people who undertake the exchange will see very quickly that they will be well equipped to work with national and international firms once they have completed their training.”

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