With National Manufacturing Day (July 7th) over for another year, one Derby-based engineering firm has been helping the next generation of engineers get to grips with the industry.
Melbourne-based Acres Engineering, which specialises in manufacturing custom solutions for clients across the UK and increasingly overseas, welcomed families to their Castle Lane facility, opening up the shop floor to give visitors a glimpse of what goes on in a busy engineering firm.
Acres set up a factory walk, stopping at processes including design, fabrication, laser cutting, powder coating and assembly, where each process was explained in an accessible style by an Acres staff member.
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.”
As well as hearing from the Acres team, a ‘virtual welding experience’ went down very well, with visitors trying to perform the perfect weld run to achieve a high score.
With the event proving popular, HR manager Alison Parker has organised an apprentice intake day for visitors to come and look at apprenticeships available at Acres on 1 August.
Alison concludes: “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 1.”
