Apprenticeships for young people in the challenging and highly skilled field of aerospace engineering have been established at London Luton Airport, as the result of a joint initiative between Monarch Aircraft Engineering and North Hertfordshire College (NHC). The ten apprentices taking part are predominantly aged between 16 and 19 years, and were selected for employment through a process of interview and assessment that originally involved 350 potential trainees from across the UK. Each of these young men demonstrated the rare and exceptional qualities required to become a technical specialist in engineering and maintenance regimes that ensure aircraft and passenger safety.
NHC SEEK QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY
North Hertfordshire College is focused on becoming increasingly involved in delivering training on the premises of employees and enabling talented young people to undergo high-quality apprenticeship training in specialist fields, leading to a professional qualification and a fulfilling career path. Monarch Aircraft Engineering has over 40 years experience in the aircraft maintenance business and a history of upholding the highest technical standards through skills development and training programmes, with engineering apprenticeships playing a pivotal role. Both organisations are confident that their collaboration to establish effective demand-led training programmes will prove that such community partnerships between employers and further education are an essential factor in answering UK industry’s need for an ambitious, skilled and technically qualified workforce.
Fintan Donohue Principal, NHC, is an enthusiastic supporter of genuine partnerships involving sector skills councils, FE Colleges, employers and other responsible agencies, where these achieve tangible results. He was recently quoted as saying: “Real strategic and commercially focused partnerships with employers need to be at the core of our strategy.”
He also said: “The actuality is that, by talking to employers and prospective employees within the community and responding to their needs creatively rather than prescriptively, colleges can play a vital role in creating foundations for a progressive and prosperous regional and national future. I believe that all involved with this project have helped to show the way forward.”
Monarch Aircraft Engineering Managing Director, Richard Mintern, commented: “We have a long history of involvement with apprenticeship schemes and the future of the aviation maintenance industry depends on young engineering talent being nurtured and developed in the right way. The apprentices currently with us have all shown an excellent aptitude for the demand of the role, helping to maintain the airworthiness of the Jon Nay.”
Regional Apprenticeship Director, National Apprenticeship Service - East of England said: “This partnership between Monarch and North Hertfordshire College is a fantastic example of how collaboration between a college and an employer can help to create Apprenticeships which will provide work-based training and experience in highly skilled fields. This is exactly the type of partnership that NAS aims to help develop and increase across the region. This initiative will provide young people with Apprenticeship training which will be a springboard for their careers, and has enabled Monarch to ensure they can continue to develop a skilled workforce for the future of the aviation maintenance industry - and keep them at the top of their field.
"I would like to wish all the apprentices the best of luck with their training and I hope that this successful partnership will inspire both other employers and potential apprentices alike."
THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME
Focused within the engineering hub of Luton Airport, the young apprentices first spent a 17 week period learning “high end” general engineering skills before progressing to taking a practical role in aircraft maintenance within Monarch’s engineering hangers. Here the company undertakes maintenance and overhaul operations for its partner Monarch Airlines, and for a range of third party independent and scheduled airlines. Since the beginning of November there are now six young people working in the hangers at Luton and four apprentices are similarly based in Monarch’s engineering centre at Manchester Airport.
The apprentices are currently working on a three-year training programme to attain a City & Guilds 2261 qualification, plus an Aeronautical NVQ in engine maintenance, avionics, and mechanical maintenance on aircraft. The overall objective, at the end of a four year period, is for each trainee to gain an “A” Licence from the Civil Aviation Authority to practice as a fully qualified aircraft engineer.
The programme was developed and is supported with the backing and encouragement of the Sector Skills Council for Aviation, the Learning and Skills Council, and the National Apprenticeship Service. NHC is managing and providing quality control for the apprenticeship training overall, and Monarch is directly employing the trainees with financial support for training being provided by LSC.
As expected, reflecting their job locations, the young apprentices come predominantly from the North West and South East regions of England, with Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire being particularly well represented. The young men now undertaking apprenticeship employment at Luton Airport are predominantly “local” and aged between 16 and 19 years. Without exception, they express a personal ambition and determination to succeed as members of an exclusive group of aeronautical engineering specialists, and are taking their training very seriously. They also recognise that each one of them has been presented with an exceptional life-changing opportunity that they intend to make the most of.
The six apprentices in the scheme include: Robert Goldsmith: Letchworth, Hertfordshire; Daniel Fowler: Ampthill, Bedfordshire; Edward Hare: Luton, Bedfordshire; Jack Dewiit: Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire; Jack McKeone: Luton, Bedfordshire; Oliver Jennings: Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire.