New courses tackle skill shortage

These build on the latent talent within the company’s 1,200 strong workforce and lead to workers gaining nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Career prospects are improved and Leyland Trucks is provided with the high level of engineering knowledge and experience on which its future growth can be built. “The cause of the problem is twofold,” says HR development manager Lyn Butler. “Fewer school-leavers are taking-up engineering as a profession and we’ve seen a recent increase in the number of highly-qualified employees reaching retirement age. The result is that we’re faced with a shortage of professional engineers in the future if we don’t take action now.” The solution lies in partnerships forged with Runshaw College and Blackpool & Fylde College. These have led to the development of tailor-made courses by which employees can achieve the much-needed qualifications and which are designed to align their personal aspirations with the company’s business needs. “We have numerous people within our workforce who have the ability and the commitment to gain these qualifications and improve their career prospects through further study,” says Butler. “Some may have left school undecided about their career choice and not having taken their education to a higher level. By participating in these programmes they can now do that and pursue a worthwhile and well-paid career as a professional engineer.” Thirty employees from all areas of the business applied to take part in the two-year Trainee Design Engineer programme. Five were successful, with another two to join them shortly. Each is now learning the fundamentals of engineering design and development through both on and off the job training. On successful completion each will have a job as a design engineer as well as gaining a further qualification, potentially then leading to a Batchelor of Engineering (BEng) degree. At Blackpool & Fylde College a new Foundation Degree in Automotive Manufacturing has been established and accredited by Lancaster University. It is the equivalent to an HND and can take the place of the first two years of a BEng degree. Thirteen employees have signed-up for the course and will undertake three years of part-time study. Several have just completed the BTec National Certificate in Engineering through a course delivered at Leyland Trucks by Runshaw College over a two-year period. Pictured left is Jason Mistry, who started with Leyland Trucks as an assembly operative, and (right) Paul Sussams, who completed his time as an apprentice in prototype in 2005. Both are halfway through the two-year trainee design engineer programme.