Engineering firm ‘heartened’ by response as apprenticeship drive moves up a gear

A Derbyshire-based engineering firm has been helping young people get to grips with the industry – and says it has found the response from the next generation of aspiring engineers “heartening” as it looks to bring more apprentices onboard.

Acres Engineering, which provides custom solutions for the manufacturing industry, trading internationally from its Melbourne base, welcomed families to its Castle Lane facility last week.

Acres opened up the shop floor to give visitors a glimpse of what goes on in a busy engineering environment, setting up a factory walk that took in a range of processes including design, fabrication, laser cutting, powder coating and assembly.

Luke Parker, managing director at Acres Engineering, said: “It was really good to show everyone around as it gets us thinking about how we can explain quite complicated processes in a simple and accessible way. One very bright 7-year old visitor was exceptionally interested in what we do in the coding and 3d printing arena and amazed us all with his knowledge of the subject.

“The really encouraging thing is that a number of the visitors enquired about apprentice positions after enjoying the introduction to the world of manufacturing engineering and that is heartening to hear.”

A “virtual welding experience” was also reportedly popular with visitors.

HR manager Alison Parker, who has organised an apprentice intake day for the firm on 1 August, added: “We have been committed to our apprenticeship programme for over 10 years now and have seen some fantastic individuals come into our business. We are all exceptionally proud of our apprentices, some of whom have worked their way through university and become degree qualified. We will continue to invest in the next generation of engineers and look forward to welcoming some over again on August 1st.”