Local students plugged in for Enterprise Week
MAS East Midlands (MAS EM) celebrated this year’s Enterprise Week
MAS East Midlands (MAS EM) celebrated this year’s Enterprise Week – a national celebration inspiring young people to turn their ideas into reality - by helping to give Northampton students a real life insight into the world of engineering.
Working with The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing (NSAM), the EEF and Northampton College, Corby-based Corus Tubes hosted a day for 24 students from Roades School and the College, who took part in simulated ‘lean’ environment workshops. It gave them a realistic flavour of life inside a leading manufacturing business and also raised the profile of careers open to them in manufacturing.
Three teams, championed by MAS lean practitioners, the Academy and the College, competed against each other in the ‘plug’ factory game, which is based on assembling a series of three-pin plugs in 10 minutes demonstrating the most effective use of resources.
MAS centre director Tony Pritchard said: “It’s always very satisfying for our practitioners to be involved in Enterprise Week. We did a similar activity last year in North Nottinghamshire, but this is the first time we’ve been able to link up with the new NSAM in this way. It’s important to show young people the good things going on in manufacturing and this was an excellent example of what we can do together with the colleges and leading manufacturers to help break down some of the myths."
Tom Preece, regional manager for NSAM in the East Midlands, said: “The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing is proud to be assisting employers and providers to encourage younger generations into UK manufacturing careers. This initiative, as part of Enterprise Week, largely expands on our commitment to improving the skills gap in UK manufacturing.
“The activities used are centred around lean philosophies and demonstrate the importance of such techniques in a production environment from the bottom line up, to deliver efficiency and productivity in a global marketplace.”
The event was rounded off with a tour of Corus Tubes, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of welded steel tubes.
Jarrod Grant (18), who is studying for a BTEC National Diploma in Engineering at the College, was one of those involved in the day. He said: “The visit to Corus was great. I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot about lean. I was always interested in a career in engineering and this visit has confirmed it’s definitely the career for me.’
