EM3, the region’s leading business-led strategic economic partnership organisation, discussed the barriers to apprenticeships at their first Careers Hub Steering Group meeting recently.

The event, which included delegates from a range of businesses and organisations across Hampshire, featured a workshop look at how employers could work to provide more opportunities to young people, improving access to training and promoting non-University centric career paths.

During the meeting, delegates heard from Alan Hay, who is an apprentice at Middlesex Aerospace. Alan joined the aviation and aerospace component manufacturer five years ago, after learning about the company at an apprenticeship fair held at Basingstoke College of Technology.

Alan, who is a New Product Introduction and special projects engineer, spoke of his positive experience as an apprentice, where he could earn while he learned in a very supportive environment. But he said: “It was completely potluck that I found out about Middlesex Aerospace.”

In fact, it was all down to his mother encouraging Alan to attend the apprenticeship fair. “The awareness of apprenticeships at school wasn’t very good,” explained Alan. “My teachers had told me I should go to college and study engineering, but they didn’t actually tell me about apprenticeships. It was seeing Middlesex Aerospace at the fair that made me think engineering was something I was interested in as a career.”

It was while studying at BCoT that Alan became much more aware of apprenticeships, in part thanks to going on work experience and meeting different businesses at apprenticeship evenings.

Alan’s manager Michael Clarkson was full of praise for Alan and keen to promote apprenticeships as an excellent way of bringing both new talent to a business and upskilling young people.

While some businesses view apprenticeships as an added cost, Michael said Alan was a great example of how apprentices can instead save money through giving them a chance to use their skills and abilities.

In Alan’s case, Middlesex Aerospace tasked him to research and source equipment to replace a manual process of measuring the quality of components. “As parts are being machined, they are now being checked at the same time. This improves production flow without compromising quality. As a result, our ability to meet even shorter deadlines increases capacity for more customers,” said Michael.

“Alan’s very clever and is a real asset. Now he’s head of two machines worth £500,000 which is great. He’s shown his capabilities and he’s got the knowledge. He’s very interested in engineering and has the ability to focus on getting the job done within time scales.”

Suzanne Dixon, said: “The event gave businesses, training providers and the Enterprise M3 Careers Hub team the opportunity to discuss barriers to apprenticeship and technical education take up.”

“Findings from the session will be shared with the Careers and Enterprise Company and the Department of Education.”

Ou thanks to Suzanne for facilitating this invaluable meeting and we look forward to working with EM3 to advance the positive benefits of apprenticeships in the future.

Following an intensive inspection process, Performance Review Institute has informed us that Middlesex Aerospace has achieved Nadcap® accreditation for Non-Destructive Testing. Furthermore, our recent audit has earned the company an additional 2 credits, meaning the certification remains in place until 2025.

To reach this standard is highly challenging; indeed, many members of the aerospace supply chain do not reach this level. PRI undertook a detailed examination of our business, looking at our work, approach to quality, investment in technology, and the skills and experience of our people.

If you are wondering who Performance Review Institute is, here is some background for you.

For many years aerospace companies would audit their suppliers to ensure they complied with self-created process requirements. As both customer requirements and partner processes were often similar, it resulted in huge levels of repetition with no real value; repeating the same reviews made them redundant and merely created work for no reason, increasing costs.

Alarmed at how this situation impacted development and manufacturing in aerospace, a conference in the US comprising of Government and industry leaders recommended creating an independent body to undertake the audits of supply chain partners. This led to the formation of PRI in 1990, tasked with administering the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program – Nadcap.

I believe this award perfectly illustrates our complete commitment to quality. It is very much a testament to the highly skilled teams here within Middlesex Aerospace and their expertise and determination to pass this audit with flying colours. It’s no exaggeration to say I am immensely proud of everyone at Middlesex Aerospace. We have always believed our work places us on a par with any of our peers. Nadcap certification is testament to our relentless drive to achieving the very highest standards.

I’ll end with these words from Jay Solomond, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Performance Review Institute. “This is an impressive achievement by Middlesex Aerospace, with their ability to meet demanding industry and customer requirements now recognised globally. I am delighted to congratulate Middlesex Aerospace for their dedication and professionalism which has led to their achieving Nadcap accreditation.”

Once again, congratulations to everyone here within Middlesex Aerospace. And for our partners, we look forward to bringing you ever-higher standards of quality and service.

Laurence Foulds, Managing Director

 

Now in it’s 54th outing, the Paris Air Show returns on the 19th June for 7 days’ at the Le Bourget Parc des Expositions in France.

As the largest air show and exhibition in the world, the biennial Paris Air Show remains an enduringly popular fixture in the event calendar. 2,453 exhibitors from 49 countries will present their products and services to nearly 140,000 visitors across the aerospace sector. Not forgetting of course the sight of 140 aircraft on display.

The last staging of the show was back in 2019; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2021 even to be cancelled. So the return of what has become an iconic event that has featured so many iconic airplanes across the decades is most welcome.

Middlesex Aerospace will be present at the Paris Air Show, and we look forward to meeting with many of our close supply chain partners whilst there. We will also be on hand to discuss projects with industry attendees and exhibitors, and look forward to a hectic and rewarding 7 days at what is very much a reference point for the aerospace industry.