Chesterfield-based BG Engineering (www.bgeng.com), a specialist sub-contractor for machined components, has appointed two new apprentices and invested £75,000 investment in a new apprentice machine cell.

Rhys Quinn and Dylan Davenport are working towards a Level 3 BTEC in Mechanical Engineering. As part of the apprenticeship programme, Rhys attends vocational lessons at the AMRC in Rotherham, while Dylan studies at Chesterfield College.

The new machine cell has both manual and CNC capabilities, which will be used to train them in traditional turning and milling techniques.

Shane Greveson, business development director at BG Engineering, said: “There has been a recognised decline in our industry over the past 20 years in the number of skilled machinists, so we took the decision a couple of years ago to train our own apprentices.

"The programme is working well and now has four people on it, each mentored by a more-experienced machinist. We are delighted to welcome Rhys and Dylan and look forward to supporting them through their apprenticeship to become fully skilled engineers.”

In addition to this latest investment, BG Engineering is also working towards attaining AS9100:2015 certification, so that it can become an approved aerospace supplier and offer its services to OEMs in very specialised areas.

Achieving the rigorous standard required of suppliers to the aerospace and nuclear markets will enable the company to attract more business and create further employment opportunities.