A cohort of manufacturing and engineering firms from around the UK recently became the first-ever companies to receive the Make UK ‘Engineering Apprenticeships: Employer Kitemark Accreditation’, which recognises exemplar employers of engineering apprentices — companies that have undergone a 12-month accreditation process that includes satisfaction surveys of existing engineering apprentices and benchmarking of the company’s apprenticeship scheme against industry best practices.

The Kitemark is achieved via involvement in the ‘Engineering Apprenticeships: Best Practice Programme’ from Next Gen Makers, which is backed by the national manufacturing representative body Make UK. Companies are recognised with either the Gold standard ‘Excellent Employer’ Kitemark status, or the Silver standard ‘Aspiring for Excellence’ status.

Decision makers and engineering apprentices from participating companies — including KUKA UK, Weir Group, Wienerberger UK, Thomas Dudley Ltd, Eminox, Ishida Europe, AE Aerospace, Redhill Manufacturing, AE Aerospace, Brown McFarlane, Fablink Group and Alucast Ltd — received their Award trophies and certificates of accreditation at an awards dinner held at the Make UK Technology Centre in Aston, Birmingham.

Bridging the skills gap
Stephen Phipson, Make UK’s CEO, said: “It is vital that would-be apprentices feel comfortable and confident when selecting an engineering employer, one that will give them the right support and training throughout their apprenticeship and beyond. This kitemark complements and builds on the programmes that Make UK and Next Gen Makers have already developed and are key to helping place apprentices and enable employers to bridge the skills gap which is currently affecting the sector.

“Since its launch some 12 months ago, the Next Gen Makers ‘Engineering Apprenticeships: Best Practice Programme’ has continued to grow apace and now represents an online community of UK engineering and manufacturing firms committed to achieving excellence in how they attract, develop, and retain young engineering talent through best practice sharing while working to achieve best practice benchmarks.”

All companies are re-accredited each year to retain the Kitemark or improve their achieved Kitemark level. Those awarded with the Kitemark accreditation will then leverage this as a differentiator to stand out as an employer of choice for young engineering talent.

Tony O’Reilly managing director of carbon-steel and stainless-steel plate stockholder Brown McFarlane said: “Brown McFarlane is delighted to be part of the inaugural cohort of companies to be recognised with this Accreditation.

“We are proud of our success rate with apprentices, supporting their learning and helping them grow as individuals who are going to add real value and energy to the business. We are confident that working within this initiative, improving structure, using the online tools, and sharing best practice will enable us to further improve our approach.”