EIGHT North East apprentices are jetting out to Germany to put their skills to the test at a global manufacturing facility.
The students, who are signed up to manufacturing and engineering courses with regional training provider S. W. Durham Training (SWDT) Ltd, will undertake 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 car parts giant Nifco, flat bread producer Mission Foods and Nissan supplier Tacle will fly out to in Germany on March 1 to partake in the exchange, where they will learn more about advanced manufacturing.
Nigel Davison, centre coordinator, who organised the exchange, the Leonardo Project – now in its tenth 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: “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.
“However it is about much more than honing their technical skills. It is a chance for each of them to gain invaluable life skills that will set them apart when they embark upon their respective careers. Each year, we see this project doing a remarkable job in transforming students who take part in it, giving them so much more confidence, so we’re delighted to be taking eight young people out with us on the 2013 exchange programme.”
As part of the Leonardo Project, apprentices from Germany will visit the North East to learn more about UK manufacturing in June. The group, made up of employees from Siemens, will visit SWDT’s multi-million-pound Newton Aycliffe CORE Centre from June 14 until July 5 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.
Charl Erasmus, chief executive of the 45 year old training company, said: “The trip will provide our young people 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.”
For more information about courses at South West Durham Training Ltd, visit www.southwestdurham.co.uk or call 01325 313 194.
