Engineering apprenticeship initiative expands in North Staffordshire

MSC Industrial Supply UK is helping to address the engineering skills shortage by supporting Next Gen Makers with its expansion into North Staffordshire.

Next Gen Makers is an initiative, first launched in the West Midlands two years ago, which makes it easier for engineering and manufacturing businesses to recruit apprentices.

The company proactively inspires the next generation of engineers in local colleges and secondary schools and by helps manufacturing businesses, in particular SMEs, to compete and make their apprenticeships attractive to relevant students.

MSC is a principal partner to Next Gen Makers. Since the partnership was formed, Next Gen Makers has reached over 10,000 students across 40 High Schools and 7 Further Education Colleges.

So far, over 50 SME manufacturing and engineering firms in the West Midlands have reaped the benefits.

The Next Gen Makers Staffordshire operation will be headed up by Alec Proctor, a former managing director of a Cannock based SME manufacturer, and now director of Stoke-based HR, Health and Safety, Recruitment and Consultancy business Novelus.

Mr Proctor and his business partners, including recruitment specialist Anita Gratton and HR specialists, are forming partnerships with manufacturing and engineering businesses in Staffordshire who can benefit from recruiting apprentices. Stoke on Trent College is one of their first college partners to be established.

“The engineering skills shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing UK manufacturing today; however, Next Gen Makers has proved that it is a problem that can be solved by a coordinated industry-led approach,” said director of Next Gen Makers, Adam Tipper.

According to a government study, for the UK engineering sector to gain enough candidates to reduce the skills shortage, it would need around 186,000 new skilled recruits each year until 2024.

Howard Rothwell, sales director at MSC, added: “Our partnership with Next Gen Makers continues to be very successful in the West Midlands, and we look forward to supporting its rollout into North Staffordshire, which is another area where many manufacturing businesses are experiencing the impact of the skills shortage.”

Next Gen Makers takes a strategic and long-term approach to solving the skills gap. The company realises that most SME manufacturers are too busy to be promoting themselves in local schools and colleges, so has created a platform to do this for them, through their Engineering Careers Prospectus and Engineering Careers webinars.

Next Gen Makers also supports SME manufacturing businesses to raise awareness of their apprenticeship opportunities, so they are on the radar of more potential apprentices.

MSC Industrial Supply www.mscdirect.co.uk

Next Gen Makers www.nextgenmakers.co.uk