MSC Industrial Supply Co UK — a distributor of industrial tools and MRO supplies — is helping to address the engineering skills shortage by supporting the expansion into North Staffordshire of
Next Gen Makers — an initiative launched in the West Midlands two years ago with the aim of making it easier for engineering and manufacturing businesses to recruit engineering apprentices.
It does this by ‘proactively inspiring’ the next generation of engineers in local colleges and secondary schools and by helping manufacturing businesses, in particular SMEs, to ‘compete and make their apprenticeships attractive to students’.
MSC is a principal partner to Next Gen Makers; and since the partnership was formed, Next Gen Makers activities promoting local engineering careers has reached over 10,000 students in 40 high schools and seven further education colleges.
So far, over 50 SME manufacturing and engineering firms in the West Midlands have reaped the benefits.
The Next Gen Makers Staffordshire operation will be headed up by Alec Proctor, a former managing director of a Cannock based SME manufacturer, and now a director of Stoke-based Novelus Ltd — an HR, health and safety, recruitment and consultancy business.
Mr Proctor and his business partners are forming partnerships with manufacturing and engineering businesses in Staffordshire that can benefit from recruiting apprentices. Stoke on Trent College is one of their first college partners to be established.
Adam Tipper, owner and director of Next Gen Makers, said: “The engineering skills shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing UK manufacturing today. However, Next Gen Makers has proved that this problem can be solved by a coordinated industry-led approach.
“By inspiring more young people to pursue a career in engineering, bringing manufacturing businesses and relevant students together, and raising awareness of the opportunities in the local area, we can place genuine engineering talent where it is needed the most.”
Howard Rothwell, MSC sales director, said: “At MSC, we work with many engineering businesses and are acutely aware of the challenges they are facing in relation to the skills gap. Our partnership with Next Gen Makers continues to be very successful in the West Midlands, and we look forward to supporting its roll-out into North Staffordshire, which is another area where many manufacturing businesses are experiencing the impact of the skills shortage.”
According to a Government study, for the UK engineering sector to gain enough candidates to reduce the skills shortage, it would need around 186,000 new skilled recruits each year until 2024.