Training the key to career as engineer

Engineering is an industry that has been the subject of a massive recruitment drive.

PROFILE: Phillip Berry

Date of Birth: August 26, 1980 Place of Birth: Boston, Lincolnshire Where do you live? Heacham Education (high school, college): Smithdon High School, Hunstanton; College of West Anglia Qualifications: GCSEs; Performing Engineering Operations, NVQ Level Two

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1 LISTEN Listen and learn from people who have more experience and knowledge 2 LEARN Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – we learn from them 3 RIGHT ATTITUDE Approach people in the right way and they will be more willing to pass on their knowledge

Attracting talented young people was becoming a serious problem, as school-leavers were put off by misconceptions about the trade.

King’s Lynn drug delivery firm Bespak Europe has been working to combat the engineering skills shortage, and 22-year-old Phillip Berry is a perfect example of the scheme’s success.

Phillip, who lives in nearby Heacham, is on the firm’s Advanced Modern Apprentice-ship. This involves combining a job with one day a week of work-based learning at the College of West Anglia in Lynn.

“I’m training to be an engineer on a five-year apprenticeship,” says Phillip. “I enjoy the practical aspects, putting theory into practice – the hands-on side of the job. If something doesn’t work, why doesn’t it work and can I fix it?”

The work involves understanding the processes that control manufacturing machines, and diagnosing problems.
Although Phillip is now committed to forging a career in engineering, he didn’t always know that his future lay in the field.

“I was working in a zoo down in Paignton in Devon, then a fibreoptics company – that’s where I found my interest in engineering.
“My long-term aim is to climb the corporate ladder within Bespak and achieve the highest possible qualifications within the engineering field.”

He seems well set to do so, having recently been praised for his skills at the finals of the annual Plastics Industry Awards.

Phillip was shortlisted as a finalist in the Apprentice or Trainee of the Year category, out of a field of 92, in recognition of his achievements at Bespak.

And last year he won the Dean Robinson Memorial Shield as the company’s Engineering Apprentice of the Year.

While Phillip is self-deprecating, others have been more forthcoming with their praise. “For many a year I have not seen a young individual with such extreme talent,” said John Goff, director at external training company GA Moulding Technology.

His insight and application as an apprentice have earned him praise from tutors and colleagues alike, though he has been quick to praise the training system.
“The communication between myself, my training adviser and Bespak is beneficial for both myself and my employer as it helps me define my strengths and weaknesses.”

Phillip goes into his third year of the apprenticeship in September and will be working towards NVQ Level Three in Engineering Maintenance.

Apprentices at Bespak work across a variety of departments, gaining experience in sectors from high-level engineering to moulding and tooling.
The programme allows Phillip to do a BTEC National Certificate, of which he has just finished the first year.

If Phillip’s progress is indicative of the improving state of UK engineering, the industry’s future is looking bright.