Cannock-based Gestamp Tallent, which has recently opened a second factory in Four Ashes in Wolverhampton, currently has 11 apprentices at the Aldridge firm’s academy on the trailblazer mechatronics and toolmaking courses.
It is part of the company’s desire to bridge the skills gap and address an ageing workforce, with the plan to recruit another 30 apprentices over the next three years, as it looks to maximise increases in volumes with all the major car manufacturers in the UK and Europe.
Explains Gestamp Tallent training controller Julian Nicholas: “We want to work with a partner that understands where we are going as a business and can deliver the level of quality training that will produce engineers that have an immediate impact within the business.
“After a competitive tender that involved more than 10 providers we decided to appoint In-Comm to work with all of our apprentices. This involves helping us recruit them, shaping the training and then ensuring they are learning on equipment that is relevant to them.”
He continues: “All of our apprentices spend eighteen months full-time at the academy and then they join us, with one-day college release per week. This is the type of intensive development that you saw in the late 70s and one we are very much in favour of. Yes, it’s a longer-term vision, but one that will reap dividends over the next few years.”
In-Comm - recently awarded ‘Outstanding’ rating by Ofsted - has worked with Gestamp Tallent for over 10 years, providing upskilling courses and consultancy on compliance and business improvement techniques.
The apprenticeship contract is one of many recent wins this year for the firm, which has also seen it play an instrumental role in the launch of the Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology in Bridgnorth.
Adds In-Comm Training’s joint MD Gareth Jones: “There is an industry-wide desire for more robust apprenticeship programmes and our work with Gestamp Tallent reflects that.
“We sat down with the team and looked at the right courses, before jointly tailoring them to reflect some individual elements that they needed covered. It’s all about listening to the employer and ensuring we deliver the skills support they need, not what we think they may want.”
