A £1 million investment in engineering training at the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education is set to provide a major boost to high-tech manufacturing on the island.
The training project is a partnership between the Isle of Man Government’s Department for Economic Development and its Department for Education of Children, along with the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster (IOMAC), which comprises companies such as RLC Ronaldsway, Swagelok and Triumph Activation Systems.
The investment is spread over two sites in Douglas. The Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre will allow a significant increase in the number of apprentices trained on the island, while further education training will be undertaken at the refurbished William Kennish building on the main campus site.
To meet the needs of students undergoing both basic training and more-advanced learning, the college needed to be equipped with machine tools capable of delivering quality and performance.
The college put its requirement for 38 machines out to tender, and the winning supplier was Burlescombe-based XYZ Machine Tools (
www.xyzmachinetools.com), which has now entered into an Educational Partnership agreement with the college.
Machine package
Brian Young, the Isle of Man College’s engineering programme manager, said: “We needed a supplier that could provide a complete package of manual and CNC machine tools, because we want to develop traditional skills as well as provide more-advanced training. We also bought suites of ProtoTrak and Siemens software for off-line training.
"The manual machines that we purchased are perfect for the students with no experience, as they lay the foundations for basic machining principles. During the students’ first year, they can move on to the ProtoTrak-controlled lathes and mills, continuing their training on the CNC machining and turning centres in their second year.”
The machine order comprised: seven XYZ SMX 2500 ProtoTrak bed mills; five XYZ SLX 1630 ProTurn lathes; 12 XYZ 2000 manual mills and 11 XYZ 1330 manual lathes, all with digital read-outs; an XYZ 1020 surface grinder; an XYZ CT52LTY turning centre with live tooling and Y axis; and an XYZ 710 VMC vertical machining centre with five-axis capability.
The machines are backed by XYZ Machine Tools’ Educational Partnership promise, which ensures that the college will receive free on-going support in the form of training designed to maintain the skill levels of the technicians and teaching staff.
Kerry Kidd, XYZ’s educational sales director, says: “Our experience within the education sector is extensive, with over 200 universities, colleges and training establishments having XYZ machines in their workshops, many of which have entered into Educational Partnerships with us.”
The ease of use of the ProtoTrak control is key to this success within education, in particular the ‘Traking’ facility that allows verification of a program by use of the hand-wheels — something that was particularly valuable to the Isle of Man College. Mr Young says: “This facility is a big plus for us, as we can’t allow students to simply push a ‘cycle start’ button and hope for the best without verifying the program first.”
Dedicated to learning
With the machines now installed, the college is promoting the courses it teaches. Unusually, an apprenticeship on the Isle of Man involves two years of off-the-job training, which the apprentices are expected to fund themselves, as they are not employed by any company at this stage.
This leads to some innovative ways in which to generate income and also demonstrates a dedication to learning. Two apprentices in the current intake work for the Island’s postal service, getting up at five o’clock to do a shift before coming to college.
Despite the high level of commitment required of students, the college is seeing a dramatic increase in applicants, with 33 taken on this year. In contrast, at one stage there were just eight apprentices across the entire island, supporting an engineering sector that employs over 3,500 people.
That said, it is estimated that this sector will lose upwards of 500 people through retirement in the next few years, so the training provided by the Isle of Man College is essential. It will take students to City & Guilds PEO (Performing Engineering Operations) level 2, BTEC level 3 diploma or City & Guilds level 2 in year one, adding City & Guilds CNC level 2 in year two. In addition, industry partners are providing workplace skills during a half-day per week placement.
Purchase decision
These industry partners also had an influence on the machines that were purchased. Mr Young says: “Our partners in IOMAC were pushing for more and more CNC training, so we had to reassure them that the machines we were buying met their needs, while at the same time structuring the machine package to suit the students’ needs.
"Before the order for the machines was signed, members of IOMAC vetted our choice and gave it ‘the thumbs up’ based on the capability and quality of the XYZ machines.”
Carl Tinsley — the local XYZ salesman — and Mr Kidd worked closely with the college, and no detail was overlooked. For example, XYZ brought its transport manager over to survey the two sites before delivery took place.
This was a fortuitous decision, as access to the William Kennish building is challenging, to say the least. As a result of this attention to detail, the whole process ran smoothly from start to finish.
In conclusion, Mr Kidd says: “XYZ’s success in the education sector is built on having a diverse range of machines that are capable of providing the development of skills needed by apprentices, as well as those in further education.”