03 Nov 2011
TWO of the most sought-after engineering apprenticeships anywhere in the UK have been awarded by a Teesside company.
Tees Components Limited, a precision and heavy engineering company based in Skelton-by-the-Sea, east Cleveland, handles components for some of the world’s biggest power generation, marine and tunneling projects.
It is one of only a handful of UK companies capable of CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of components up to 50 tonnes and seven-metres in diameter – and already this year, its unique engineering capabilities were showcased internationally by the Government as an example of Britain’s manufacturing ingenuity and quality.
So, when the company announced it was seeking new machining apprentices, it was flooded with hundreds of applications – and only after a lengthy selection process involving a series of interviews and practical trials, have the two young people finally been selected.
Joe Cowley, 17, and 16-year-old Ryan Welford begin their four-year apprenticeships just as Tees Components’ four established apprentices – Luke Cox, Mike Harbison, Josh Pearson and Tony Moore – are about to finish serving their time.
Joe, from Eston, got a taste for the job during work experience at the factory last year. He says: “I learnt then it was a special job. I feel lucky to be one of only two chosen from the 60 who originally had the chance. Hopefully, they see potential in me.”
Sharon Lane, general manager of Tees Components, says: “The apprenticeship programme is hugely important to a company like us. With Joe and Ryan, we now have six apprentices out of a workforce of 63, which is nearly ten per cent.
“We work in a highly specialised niche market. Very few companies in the UK have the capability to precision machine products to the sizes we can, and the best way to prepare the next generation of engineers with the unique skills needed to do it well is to teach them ourselves, working in conjunction with our training partner, Neta.”
Tees Components was founded in 1963 as a machine and fabrication sub-contractor to serve the areas coal mines and steel foundries and has become one of the most comprehensive heavy engineering facilities in Europe, never mind the UK.
In the past year, it has increased turnover by 20% and while five years ago exports contributed only about 5% of that turnover, it currently accounts for more than 50%, with new markets established in the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea, Egypt and Malaysia.
In June, Tees Gill Thrusters, a division of Tees Components specializing in the design and manufacture of high-specification thrusters for ships, was one of only 40 companies nationally invited by the Government’s to submit a product to its Made By Britain initiative showcasing the best of Britain’s manufacturing ingenuity and quality.
The company’s new apprentices have some good examples to follow – machine shop manager Mark Speke started at Tees Components as an apprentice in 1984 and production manager Steve Horner cut his teeth at the company in 1977.
Mr Speke says: “Our apprenticeship training is very hands-on based. Apprentices get a thorough grounding in all the traditional machine shop skills, skills they can’t learn in the classroom, before they are allowed anywhere near the larger precision-tooling machines.”
Mike Harbinson, from New Marske, is months away from finishing serving his apprenticeship and is currently providing holiday cover on one of the biggest CNC machines in the shop. “I can’t imagine working anywhere else,” he says. “The four years have passed really quickly and it still excites me to think about the work we do here. No other place can take jobs as big, as complicated or as hard to lift as we handle.”
Added Mrs Lane: “I think Tees Components is one of those rare companies where a ‘job for life’ is just that. A lot of men who served their time here have remained with the company and built successful careers – hopefully, our new apprentices will go on to do exactly that.”
Tees Components will begin the process of seeking its next intake of apprentices in February 2012.
