Training & skills
to develop a package of training that caters to actual needs. Moving forward, we’ll continue working with our members to identify requirements for the next five and even 10 years, and collaborate to ensure delivery.” The so-called ‘skills gap’ is of course a common source of pain for many UK businesses. Engineering and manufacturing are extremely broad subject areas, so finding ideal candidates who tick every box is increasingly difficult. Today, it’s more about identifying individuals with the right aptitude and a penchant for learning. Steve Shickell, Sales, Marketing and Service Director at LK Metrology and a member of the MTA steering committee for skills and training, says: “Some SME manufacturers might not have a budget for training, but with MTA membership they can access funding, subject to qualifying criteria.” Good things come in threes There is a saying that manufacturers only need three things to make a productivity gain: technology; the skills to acquire and deploy that technology; and finance. If all three are in place there’s a good chance of achieving a step-change improvement. In contrast, if one element is missing it can prove a genuine barrier, skills being a case in point.
“We often encounter smaller companies who are desperate to become more competitive by looking at automation or additive manufacturing, for example, but simply don’t know where to start with the technology or skills,” says James Selka. “It’s one of the reasons why we’ve significantly expanded our Knowledge Hubs at MACH this year. All the Knowledge Hubs at the show will be run by brand-agnostic experts who’ll be available to provide visitors with expert advice.” Academic or hands-on? Many people in life fall into one of two categories: academic or hands-on. The problem with engineering is that people need a bit of both. And while this was probably the underlying premise for the establishment of T-Levels, some teenagers can struggle to concentrate at school and instead develop later. MTA Training offers the potential to mop up some of these late bloomers with the help of its expert member companies. “To provide an example from my perspective at LK Metrology, we see a massive shortfall of GD&T [geometric dimensioning and tolerancing] training in the market,” says Steve Shickell. “GD&T is there to help manufacture products right first time, so it’s a notable skills gap. For this reason, we’re now thinking we can maybe develop something for those seeking training in this area.”
19 Machinery & Manufacturing
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