Young people can kick-start their careers through the Bath Education Trust with the return of engineering apprenticeships.
City of Bath College, a founding member of the Trust, has teamed up with Rotork to offer engineering apprenticeships for the first time in 15 years to meet the demand of the growing industry.
The new programme forms part of the Trust’s aim to improve the educational experiences of young people to help prepare them for later life.
It will see five to seven apprentices a year becoming fully qualified engineering technicians to form “a strong part of Rotork’s future.”
Rotork’s chief executive and Chairman of the Trust’s board Peter France is a firm believer in the benefits of on-the-job training as his own City of Bath College apprenticeship in electrical and electronic engineering from 1984 to 1989 gave him “the foundation for his working life.”
Apprentices will combine a broad overview of all areas of engineering in the classroom with work experience in several departments at the head office of the city’s most successful manufacturer in Brassmill Lane.
The young people will be offered permanent jobs once they qualify in areas as varied as technical sales, service engineering, product testing and customer technical support.
Peter said: “Apprenticeships give young people real work and real life training.
“It’s an intensive and challenging period where the young person develops his/her personal and technical knowledge and become a real asset to the business.”
As soon as Peter left City of Bath College, he joined Rotork as an Inside Sales Engineer and began his steady ascent through the company.
He worked as the company’s Sales Engineer for Northern England, then as International Area Sales Manager for territories in Europe, the Middle East and India, before being appointed Director and General Manager at Rotork Singapore.
He returned to the UK in March 2001 to become Managing Director of Rotork Fluid Systems and in May 2008 was promoted to Group Chief Executive of Rotork plc, which has around 2,500 employees in 89 countries.
Peter said: “Apprentices have a chance to develop in a practical, job-related way. At the end of their training, they are competently ready to start doing a job.”
The new apprenticeship programme is launched as the Bath Education Trust continues to bring together City of Bath College, Beechen Cliff, Hayesfield, Ralph Allen and Three Ways schools, both of the city’s universities and Bath’s leading private sector employers.
Chairman of the Trust’s Management Board and College Principal Matt Atkinson said: “The introduction of the Rotork apprenticeship sees the further development of the Bath Education Trust and takes us towards becoming the most important force in local education and training.”
“This is another example of how we work closely with industry. We’re thrilled to be working so closely with a world class engineering company.”
In 2010 there were 272 apprentices at City of Bath College on 29 courses covering 13 sectors. In just three years those figures increased significantly and there are now 360 apprentices on 41 courses covering 18 sectors.
