Elder Engineering (Herts) Ltd have always seen the value of on-the-job training and the benefits that a modern apprenticeship can bring, not only to the company but for the long-term future of our industry. As a result, in 2012 we introduced an Apprenticeship scheme and working closely with our local college, Oaklands in Welwyn Garden City, were able to put together a programme covering many aspects of machining and mechanical engineering.
As a result of this scheme, we now have some very skilled members in our team who are now bringing their own ideas for continuous improvement into our business.
Rebecca initially joined our team as a temp in our Sales department in order to gain some work experience following on from full time education. When we started to put the advert together looking for 2019’s intake she jumped at the opportunity and asked if we would consider her for a place. This was fantastic news!! Without hesitation we welcomed her on board full time, she cleared her desk and started her apprenticeship in Mechanical and Production Engineering.
Some words from Rebecca
“Elder has always supported and given me a variety of opportunities to learn and develop my knowledge in machining. I feel I have a large number of people within in the company supporting and guiding me.
The end goal I would like is to become fully trained in CNC Turning, Milling and Programming, I would like to use these skills to program and create a wide variety of complex parts, I would also like to inspire and pass on my own knowledge to future generations who want to come into engineering.”
Some words from our MD Tony Worsley
“One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job is seeing the skills of our apprentices develop over time, especially seeing some of our ex-apprentices now teaching the new ones.
As an apprentice trained Toolmaker myself, I have had the benefits that can be gained from an apprenticeship and all the knowledge and tricks that those skilled machinists passed onto me. It is a great way to learn skills on the job while also gaining qualifications for future employment.
It is a real pleasure, as it is with all our apprentices, to see Rebecca now progressing in her second year. She is learning very quickly and the team at Elder are enjoying passing their knowledge onto her with some laughs along the way. She is already proficient in Manual Turning, Milling and Bench work and is now into programming our Doosan lathes including C and Y axis operations. All this, while also keeping on top of the college work than goes hand in hand with the practical aspects.
In the future Elder’s aim to continue training and investing in new talent for the future. It is an important part of our industry and something that I feel we all need to continue to invest in.”