opinion BITA l Rewarding career


Tim Waples, president of the British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) and himself a former apprentice, reflects on the enduring value of an engineering apprenticeship.


D


avid Willetts, the Minister for Universities, recently cited an extraordinary statistic when discussing access to Higher


Education. He claimed that a survey had found 97% of mothers who had recently given birth expect their children to attend university. However, I’m concerned by this unanimous view that a university education is an essential prerequisite for a fulfilling career.


Reflecting on my own experience in engineering, an apprenticeship can also be a fantastic path into a rewarding career. We as an industry, and perhaps as a society, need to do more to highlight apprenticeships as


“Reflecting on my own experience in engineering, an apprenticeship can also be a fantastic path into a rewarding career.”


an attractive option for school leavers. Times have changed since I began my career as a mechanical engineering apprentice. A university education is no longer free, for a start. However what’s still true is that an apprenticeship provides valuable experience and skills not just to secure a first job, but also to flourish and develop in a career - all the way to managerial level. This was strongly supported by the findings of our own BITA members’ survey, which established that 45% of senior managers in UK fork lift truck companies started their careers as engineering apprenticeships. I have very fond memories of my apprenticeship. It was a disciplined environment and taught me respect


28 ShD March 2012 www.PressOnShD.com


for experience. Aside from the purely technical training, we were also taught to always look at a problem or task from the customers’ perspective. We were encouraged to understand the implications for the customer of what we do, and to make sure it was done well and in a timely manner – which is a valuable lesson for anyone to learn.


Lifting industry status


Unfortunately, there remains a ‘status’ issue around engineering, and the public’s impression of the industry hasn’t caught up with reality of the opportunities available. We haven’t been great at promoting ourselves as an industry, and the potential for career progression that exists within it. And that is why emphasising the career aspect of forklift engineering has been such an important part of the message we are sending out following last November’s opening of the BITA Academy (www.bita-academy.org), in partnership with City of Bristol College. We were determined that the apprenticeships offered by the BITA Academy would provide not merely a few years of training, but instead valuable, transferable skills providing true grounding for a complete career in management and even company ownership.


As readers may well know, the BITA Academy offers both a three-year Higher Apprenticeship qualification and an Advanced Level Apprenticeship qualification achieved during a fourth year of study, which leads to a Diploma in FLT Maintenance & Repair (both accredited by IMI Awards and the SoE). However due to the way we are able to


tailor fourth-year course content, there is equal scope for students to progress through an academic degree course if required. This flexibility is precisely what both the industry and its future leaders require.


No longer the poor relation This is not just BITA’s perspective. In early February, the Prime Minister expressed his belief that


apprenticeships should no longer be considered the “poor relation of higher education”. Speaking at a visit to the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in east London, David Cameron said: “I think what we are going to see with the expansion of the higher level apprenticeships is many people going into them as they leave school...then going on and doing a university degree linked to their apprenticeship skill.”


We have already recruited 15 Level 2 apprentices, 23 Level 3 apprentices, and 15 Level 4 apprentices at the BITA Academy. Students there impress me with their dedication but also by their clear career ambitions. And nearly all of them have stories of friends who’ve been to university and then failed to find work afterwards.


Which brings us back to the crucial question: is a pure university education is always the best way to achieve their goals? With tuition fees alone hitting £9,000 a year from this September, young people should carefully consider that question. Those who will work hard to gain qualifications and experience should expect to enjoy a hugely rewarding career. As I continue to do. ● www.bita.org.uk


opinion


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60