GRADUATE TRAINING INDUSTRY COMMENT


We have duty of care to further develop graduate training


Dave Brown at Brevini Power Transmission explains how graduate training programmes can improve individual performance while maintaining the standard of UK engineering


I


t has always been the case that fresh out of college or university engineering


graduates have knowledge gaps which can only be filled with ‘real world’ experience. However, with technology developing at a rapid rate these gaps are becoming ever wider as courses are expected to cover more ground. Rather than lamenting failing standards


in education, maybe it is the job of companies operating in the UK to develop more graduate training programmes to make sure that the wealth of experience that our established engineering force has is passed down to the new generation.


LACK OF KNOWLEDGE Working within a mechanical engineering discipline it's quite common to hear experienced engineers comment on the inexperience and lack of knowledge of recent graduates. It is felt that courses aren't teaching basic skills including reading and understanding technical drawings, calculating tolerances, surface finishing requirements or material selection. As such, graduate engineers often aren't able to 'hit the ground running' and additional training is required to turn them into profitable employees. Rather than blaming graduates or the education system for a decline in standards it's important that we consider the changes that we've seen in the engineering profession as a whole over the past decade or so. While some engineering


undergraduates enter university with a specific career plan, in my own case undergraduates have little idea what area of engineering they may end up in. In some cases they may even be unsure if they will take up a career in engineering at all. I found myself studying engineering not because I knew specifically what career I hoped to enter but more because of a general interest and the fact that my education choices and more specifically my A-Level results suited a science or engineering route. This meant that I didn't focus in on any


one particular discipline as I wanted as wide a knowledge base as possible. With this in mind it is impossible to expect a


graduate to focus all of their attention on a particular sub-set of skills while they are studying, rather they must study as broad a spectrum as possible to provide them with options once they graduate. When I left university and began


working for Brevini I had only a limited knowledge of gearbox and winch technology. I have no doubt that some of my early questions made my superiors fret for the future of British engineering. The past 25 years has seen a revolution


in engineering design since CAD technology has become almost universal. Now an average college design and technology student can build a 3D model on their computer then print it on the school's 3D printer. With technologies like this emerging its little wonder that modern graduates are spending more time developing their computer-based skills and less on analogue skills.


MOULDING SKILLS TO MATCH JOBS I believe that this migration from paper to computer can account partially for the gap in understanding of tolerances and material selection as students simply aren't forced to consider them as we were, relying instead on computer programmes which work them out automatically. What we as an industry have to accept though is that no education centre is going to risk being seen as outdated by moving their syllabus away from modern technologies. Nor should they; it is their


responsibility to educate students in the modern developments of engineering so that graduates can enter the world of work at the cutting edge. It is our responsibility tomould their skill to match the requirements of the jobs we give them. At Brevini our strength in the market is the technical approach that we take to every solution. We don't just sell a gearbox. We


understand our customer's design, appreciate their drivers and work with them to develop the best solution possible. This requires a general understanding of mechanical engineering so we can speak to customers in any industry and with a specific and highly technical understanding of gears that no


/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT


graduate would be expected to hold. Rather than give graduates up as a lost cause we have developed a training programme which imparts our hard won knowledge and invests in the future of the business. By generating our own training material we are able to educate our graduates on power transmission studies, ratio explanations, gear design and engineering knowledge and gearbox selection. The training has been universally well received by everyone who has completed it and we are now able to routinely develop graduates with no real world experience into a fully competent role within six months. Previously this could have taken up to two years.


LEARNING THE BASICS We are now offering basic gearbox training courses to companies we work with (suppliers and customers) who have graduates who may need to understand the basics of the technology in their jobs. By learning the basics of gearbox design and selection many engineers within industries including mining, offshore, water, renewables, waste and recycling can become more efficient. Our training courses are free and open


to anyone who feels that they could benefit from learning more about gearbox technology. Rather than seeing it as giving away our trade secrets we believe that by spreading our knowledge we can create a deeper appreciation of our technology within the market and strengthen the relationship we have with our customers when working together on bespoke designs. If companies aren't willing to invest in


our country's young engineers and commit to supporting their growth in the early stages of their career we will only have ourselves to blame if in 20 years time all the experienced engineers begin to retire we have no-one to replace them. Developing training programmes is a simple process that could help to keep the UK as a leader in engineering.


Brevini UK


T: 01925 636682 www.brevini.co.uk


Enter 300 FACTORY EQUIPMENT | APRIL 2014 7


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