Ryan Harris, an apprentice at Renishaw’s Miskin facility in South Wales, recently participated in a two-week European Union-funded programme in Germany; it was designed to give Welsh students first-hand experience of engineering in another country.

As part of the Erasmus programme, four students from Coleg Y Cymoedd were selected for work experience at Stadler Anglenbau GmbH, including an all-expenses paid trip to the company’s Altshausen facility in Baden-Württemberg.

The company designs and manufactures waste-sorting plants and components for waste management and recycling.

On arrival, students were placed with German apprentices to learn about their roles and how they differed from the UK; in the second week of the programme they worked in different areas of production to learn how end-products are created from raw materials.

The students were also shown technologies, including ‘ballistic separators’, to find out how they operate in the waste management industry.

Mr Harris said: “The experience gave me a new perspective on the engineering work I have done at Renishaw, such as a different approach to engineering standards and tolerances, allowing me to apply the emphasis on accuracy and precision learnt at Renishaw in a completely new environment.

The scheme enabled me to learn from, and work with, peers who have come through a different education system.”

Chris Pockett, Renishaw’s head of communications, said: “It is pleasing to hear such positive feedback from students who took part in the Erasmus programme.

“Every year, Renishaw runs apprenticeship schemes that offer in-house training, a great work environment and a competitive salary.”

Renishaw welcomed its largest ever cohort of engineering apprentices last month. To find out more about apprenticeship opportunities at Renishaw, visit the Web site (www.renishaw.com/apprenticeships).