www.engineeringdiploma.com

BROMPTON BICYCLES

Wheels of industry

To round off this employer engagement supplement, we now speak to Diploma employer champion Will Butler- Adams, who is a fierce advocate of the engineering and manufacturing lines of learning

W

ill Butler-Adams wants to use his expertise to make a difference. The managing director of Brompton

Bicycles Ltd – the manufacturer of folding cycles perhaps most commonly used by commuters travelling to the City – has recently begun to host school visits to the west London factory and offer work placements to students. “It is quite challenging to find two weeks of

work that is interesting for students and I do worry about that,” he said. “I believe what we do here is fascinating as well as being great fun, but there is a knowledge that is required before you get to the stage where you can appreciate that. I’m not sure that a week or two-week work placement is long enough to get that across. A year would be more like it. “So when they come here they are

surrounded by exciting things happening but are not necessarily able to do it themselves. For example, we might be doing fatigue tests but this isn’t something the students would be able to try for themselves. But we are doing what we can.” More than seven out of 10 of Brompton’s

folding bikes are sold overseas and all are made in London. It is one of only two major bike frame manufacturers still based in the UK. Over 1,200 parts go into making each of the 20,000 bikes made annually, and 75 per

cent of the parts are designed in-house and over 50 per cent are manufactured on site. The company employs about 110 members of staff. Although Brompton worked with local

schools offering site visits before the Diploma came along, the qualification is opening up opportunities to work closely with teachers to design courses, based on real life, that inspire young people about engineering and manufacturing. “This has been good fun for the members of staff involved, as well as an opportunity to develop new work-related skills around coaching and team-working for some of our less experienced members of staff,” Mr Butler-Adams continued. He is passionate about his subject, and

believes that only people who are chartered should be able to call themselves “engineers”. “At the moment the plumber who comes

round to fix the pipes has the word written on his van,” he said. “This is why people often have misconceptions about what an engineer does. As engineers, we tend to have a bit of a chip on our shoulder about that because we think the world sees us in boiler suits with a monkey wrench sticking out of our pocket. “In this country, the word engineering too

often has negative connotations, which is not the case elsewhere in the world. In Germany I will be referred to as ‘Engineer Butler-Adams’

Champion: Will Butler-Adams

in the same way I would be called ‘Dr Butler-

Adams’ if I were a medic.”

He is troubled that in a recent study the

only living engineers any 14 to 19-year-old could name was Kevin, the car mechanic from Coronation Street: “Engineering and innovative product design has a huge role to play in this country, but if young people do not have the inspiration of meeting and working with real role models they will not even consider it as a great career. Traditional education hasn’t provided many opportunities for young people to explore sectors or industries that might interest them.” Finding enthusiastic, skilled employees

is crucial to Brompton’s on-going success. “We have been growing at 25 per cent per annum over the last four years and in order to continue at this rate we rely on finding new employees who have the skills and attitude to keep us innovative. We are selling in over 30 markets globally and compete with products on a world stage. In this market it is paramount that we have a team with world- class skills working for us. I believe that the Diploma will be a path for young people to achieve these skills, either through entering the world of work or via higher education. “Diplomas give young people the chance

from as young as 14 to dip their toes in the water and understand a bit more about what business really means. In the long run, this isn’t altruism, it is essential to the success of Brompton and the engineering sector as a whole to attract motivated young people who understand our business.”

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