FEATURE TRAINING Commitment to closing the skills gap
Robert Bosch at a cost of £7.7 million, and following initial refurbishment started manufacturing operations early in 2012. Today, Renishaw’s capital investment of the site sits at £45 million, including a total of £15.9 million spent on refurbishment and infrastructure. This has led to the site’s headcount reaching 380 in 2018. As well as developing a world-class
machine shop, Renishaw has created a Healthcare Centre of Excellence at the Miskin site. The Centre is used for neurosurgery training, dental manufacturing and the additive manufacture of bespoke craniomaxillofacial implants. The Healthcare Centre of Excellence also contains a mock non-sterile operating theatre and facilities for education, workshops and lectures. The most recent addition to Renishaw’s
Following a recent visit to Renishaw’s impressive facilities in
Miskin, Wales, home to its Healthcare Centre of Excellence and its Fabrication Development Centre (FDC), Electrical Engineering
hears from Simon Biggs, education outreach officer at Renishaw, with an insight into how the company is inspiring the next generation of engineers
A
study by King’s College London found that the aspirations of most young
people develop between the ages of ten and 14. It also found that while young people of these ages generally have high ambitions for their careers, only 15 per cent aspire to be a scientist – lower than many other career routes. There are 5.7 million UK employees in engineering enterprises, making up 19 per cent of total employment. The UK needs to double the number of graduates and apprentices entering the industry in order to meet demand. One business working to change this is
Renishaw. The company has more than 70 offices in 35 countries, with over 4,500 employees worldwide. Around 2,900 people are employed in the UK, where the company carries out the majority of its research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. Renishaw has sites across the UK, with major facilities in Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and South Wales. In 2017 at its Gloucestershire headquarters, Renishaw hosted 108 students for engineering and software work experience weeks, along with an
8 MAY 2018 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
additional 40 ad-hoc work experience placements. A further 60 students were taken on for summer placements and 40 others for industrial placements. Renishaw also recruited 45 apprentices for engineering, software and embedded electronics courses.
Young people in the area have already
experienced success from
COMMITMENT TO SOUTH WALES In 2011, Renishaw purchased its 193- acre Miskin site, near Cardiff, from
using the facility, including students at Radyr Comprehensive school..."
Miskin site is its Fabrication Development Centre (FDC), a unique education outreach facility for local schools. The 250 square metre space is exclusively for education and designed to support curriculum-based learning. The facility, partially funded by the Welsh Government, is supported by Renishaw’s staff, one full-time tutor and an education outreach officer. In 2017, the facility was used by 500 primary school pupils and 1,170 secondary school students. By March 2018, the FDC had already been used by 600 primary school pupils and 550 secondary school students a rapid growth in popularity. Young people in the area have already experienced success from using the facility, including students at Radyr Comprehensive School. After using the FDC for just a
few months, the school noticed increased motivation among its
pupils. Radyr Comprehensive School now
plans to extend its use of the facility across the three years of its GCSE programme to increase the interest and uptake of design subjects. Increased engagement with school
children will help to influence them at ages 10 to 14, the crucial time identified by Kings College London. Changing young people’s perception of engineering is an important way to close the skills gap, increasing the numbers of young people taking up engineering careers to meet industry demand.
Renishaw
www.renishaw.com
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