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More Apprentices Win Places Through Hargreaves Scheme

More apprentices win places through Hargreaves scheme
Written by Amy

Ventilation services specialist M+W Hargreaves has taken on another eight new apprentices via its acclaimed Engineering Young Talent Programme (EYTP).

Set up in 2012, the programme works with schools in the company’s home town of Bury to enthuse young people about engineering careers. Initially aimed at students between the ages of 9 and 21, it is now engaging even younger children – with activities for five-year-olds launching next year – and has moved into further education with degree-based apprenticeships being developed at Salford University.

The programme now reaches more than 500 local schoolchildren every year with the company engaging with one local primary school and three secondaries.

“Experience shows us that the earlier you engage with children, the more likely they are to choose an engineering career,” said M+W Hargreaves managing director Andy Sneyd, who expects 30% of the company’s workforce to have come through the EYTP by 2023.

“It is more important than ever that employers work with local schools and colleges to help narrow our industry’s growing skills gap,” he added. “The EYTP has been a great success and more and more schools want to be involved – we also had a record number of applications to take part this year.”

Challenges

The process starts with open days at the M+W Hargreaves factory where schoolchildren get a taste of the innovation involved in modern building engineering. They are then given engineering challenges to work on in school and are invited to present their solutions during a finals day at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester.

The programme supports students through their whole school journey and the best candidates are offered apprenticeships with the company. Eight received their certificates and formal job offers as part of the prize giving ceremony at the end of this year’s finals day last month.

Teams from St Matthew’s Primary School, Broad Oak Sports College, Newmans RC College and Philips High School presented their projects to judges from the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA); Nuvia; The Growth Company; and EEF.

Bury North MP James Frith, who launched EYTP finals day this year, said the scheme also had a crucial role to play in improving diversity in engineering.

“It is so important that we encourage more girls and young women to choose engineering and join our brilliant boys in ensuring Bury’s young people head in to high skilled work,” he said.

Mr Frith added that robots would play more of a role in engineering in the future, but “human endeavour” would still be the most important factor. Engineering was also “an opportunity for young people to make a contribution to society”, he said.

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Amy