
A group of
Sheffield AMRC Training Centre apprentices recently had the opportunity to visit
McLaren’s flagship technology centre in Woking and described the trip as being ‘one of the coolest things they had ever done’ and was ‘an amazing tour that money couldn’t buy’.
The group of 10 were finalists in the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre’s Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021, with the delayed ceremony being held earlier this year. Part of their prize was a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to the headquarters of McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive, which was gifted to them by the awards’ headline sponsor, Stanley Black & Decker and its offshoot manufacturing company, DeWalt.
Kate Todd-Davis, a manufacturing engineer at Rolls-Royce, was crowned the overall ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at the awards. He said: “The McLaren Technology Centre is a very impressive, world-class manufacturing facility and it is one of the coolest places I have ever seen. It was fascinating to see the evolution of Formula One (F1) cars on display and having the opportunity to go into the manufacturing areas and see the different technologies in use.”
From the outside, the facility has a picturesque green landscape surrounding it and from above it looks like the Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang. Once through the door, visitors are greeted by a sea of colour in the form of legendary McLaren racing cars alongside historic McLaren sports cars.
With glass windows as far as the eye can see, the facility also houses a fully operational manufacturing facility for all of its F1 demands, countless trophy cabinets showcasing their achievements spanning several decades, as well as its impressive ‘state of the art’ sports car production centre.
AMRC project engineer Jack Gascoigne said the trip was brilliant. He added: “I am a big F1 fan and I have gone from never seeing an F1 car before, to then getting to see about 20 in one day. My highlight of the tour was getting to hold Daniel Ricciardo’s steering wheel! It was a visit like no other and will be hard to beat – it was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime tour that money cannot buy.”
Connor Blades, who is a process engineer for Stanley Black & Decker, said: “It felt such a privilege to visit the McLaren facility. I love F1, but even for people that don’t, you can still appreciate the centre and what is there.”
“It is cool to be able to tie in a work trip around something that I enjoy as a hobby. My favourite part of the visit was when I walked into the sports car production area and saw the McLaren cars being built. I feel very grateful that from undertaking an apprenticeship at the AMRC Training Centre, I have had the opportunity to visit such a place.”
Anne Griggs, head of business development and contracts at the AMRC Training Centre, concluded: “We are so thrilled that our apprentices were given such an amazing prize. They work very hard, so it is good to see their efforts rewarded.”