Left to right: Henry Nevitt, George Greenslade, Ellis Thompson, Tom Madge, Alasdair Fisher and Theo Ganderton — all Brandauer apprenticesThe boss of a leading metal pressings and tooling specialist has hailed the power of apprenticeships after reducing the average age of his workforce to just 44.
Brandauer’s CEO Rowan Crozier has steered the company to invest more than £400,000 into vocational learning since 2016 and this has seen the firm create toolmakers, engineers, quality specialists and experts in logistics.
He believes the influx of youth and energy has been fundamental in helping the business evolve into its position as a world-class supplier of precision stamped components and tooling to customers in more than 26 different countries. Many of the youngsters have continued to be sponsored to complete degree courses and HNCs, with Adam Burgoyne now holding the position of operations lead, responsible for several critical business functions, including facilities, management systems and quality.
Mr Crozier, who sits on
Make UK’s Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Advisory Board, continued: “When we reintroduced our apprenticeship scheme, we wanted to make it different to what we had previously, tailoring it to not only meet the needs of learners, but importantly to deliver the skills and attitudes we wanted at Brandauer. This involved partnering with
In-Comm Training, creating internal mentors and giving our young people responsibility to drive projects, including face masks and visors during Covid-19 and, more recently, driving our Net Zero 2030 journey.”
He continued: “Importantly, we have taken the average age of the company from 58 years old to 44, safeguarding vital skills for the foreseeable future. It is not just apprentices either, we actively encourage staff to bring their children to work, take part in STEM placements and are one of the founders of the critically acclaimed
Design & Make Challenge.”
New apprenticeTom Madge is the latest apprentice to join Brandauer, beginning his career last week as the company’s new sales and marketing coordinator. He will work directly with Rowan and technical sales manager Graham Allison to help digitalise the firm’s lead generation system, as well as supporting social media, comms, SEO optimisation work and content on the company’s website.
He will also work with
Cucumber PR on the business’ external relationship and communications, using his photography skills to tell the inside workings of Brandauer’s operations and product development.
Tom said: “Marketing was always my passion, but I previously had struggled to find a way in, instead spending some time in retail. Then I had a chance conversation with Rowan who suggested some work experience at Brandauer and at our marketing company S2F. This was fantastic and gave me the opportunity to refocus my career and gain new skills. When he invited me to become the company’s first-ever marketing apprentice I jumped at the opportunity and am now looking forward to securing my Level 4 and helping boost lead generation and sales in the process.”
Mr Crozier concluded: “Tom’s hunger to learn really impressed me and I think he will bring plenty of energy and new skills into the company. Marketing is something we invest heavily in, and it will be great to get some internal expertise in place too. He has got a really big future with us.”