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Dawson Shanahan is further expanding the successful engineering apprenticeship scheme it runs at its Welshpool headquarters.
The company, a specialist in cold forming and CNC machining, already has nine apprentices and will add up to four more this summer.
The recruitment process will start at a company open day in February.
After this, candidates go through an increasingly challenging interview process, and a test.
The most promising are invited back for a week’s work experience – with the top three or four being taken on permanently.
The scheme can lead to a variety of qualifications, and has different entry levels: while most candidates join after their GCSEs, some may already have finished A-levels.
“It encourages local schools to see us as a preferred employer,” says Ken Toop, senior process development engineer at Dawson Shanahan, who is in charge of apprentice training. “It’s a good way to promote engineering in the area and it helps us source the various skills that will further enhance our operations.”
In their first year, apprentices spend three days a week at college; in their second year this drops to one day, as they spend more time in different departments and in the company’s training school learning key theory – including engineering drawing – and technical skills such as ‘speeds and feeds’.
The training school is a separate area within the factory dedicated to apprentice training. As well as having classroom facilities, it includes a range of equipment including a new CNC wire-eroding machine. In future, the school will also be used to help existing staff members improve their skills, says Toop.
The apprenticeship scheme has already produced two ‘time-served’ apprentices, who now work full-time in the toolroom.
“We’re looking for all-rounders,” says Toop. “People who can solve problems, but are also computer-literate and able to program. Anyone who would like to learn more about our scheme and our upcoming open day can learn more on the Dawson Shanahan website.”
