New College Durham delivers high-quality vocational training across a number of sectors, and the engineering department is also developing the skills of its staff — with the secondment of mechanical-engineering lecturer Nick Richardson to XYZ Machine Tools (www.xyzmachinetools.com).

The college bought its first XYZ machines two years ago, and when the opportunity arose for Mr Richardson to develop his CNC skills, it was too good to miss. The funding for the secondment came from the New Engineering Foundation.

Mr Richardson (pictured left with programming support engineer Mark Higson) says: “The secondment provided an excellent opportunity to update my skills by using and programming CNC machine tools under supervision. We went from the basics of learning to set tool offsets and part datum through to programming some complex components.

Throughout the week, I was guided by XYZ application manager Mike Corbett, who ensured that I was up to date with ISO and macro programming functions, plus the fast machining of complex 3-D forms. The amount that I learnt exceeded my expectations; I am grateful to the NEF and XYZ for a tremendous experience.”

Mr Richardson feels that his colleagues at New College will benefit from the knowledge he has picked up. A further advantage is the relationship established with XYZ’s applications team. Mr Corbett says: “Supporting those directly involved with educating future generations of engineers is important for us. It is re-assuring that colleges such as New College Durham are enthusiastic over making sure that their teaching staff remain up to date in what is a fast-changing environment.”