Mind the skills gap

In a Q&A session, Composites in Manufacturing Teledyne CML Composites’ general manager and Composites UK board member, John Toner (pictured bottom) examines the skills shortage issues facing industry and the impact on its development. There is growing concern that the shortage of skilled workers and an inability to recruit experienced engineers could constrain the UK composites manufacturing industry’s growth. New initiatives being put in place by Composites UK via its Composites Assured Practitioner (CAP) scheme, as well as efforts to develop recognised apprenticeships that offer candidates ‘on the job’ training, are being championed as the best way forward in addressing any shortfalls.

Q: Why is there such a chronic skills shortage for composites and engineering industries that employ composites in manufacture, from F1 to aerospace and medical to defence?

“There is a skill shortage for composites as recruitment into the industry has not kept pace with the explosion in demand for components, regardless of whether in F1 or aerospace, medical or defence.

“In aerospace alone, worldwide demand for composites grew by 10.7% in 2014. When considering that in the 1990s only 5% of an aircraft was composite to 50% plus in new aircraft, such as the B787 and the A350 in 2014, simply not enough new engineers are being brought into the industry to support this rapidly rising demand.

“Teledyne CML Composites has managed this skills shortage by developing metallic engineers to composites and forming partnerships with contract agencies.”

Q: Is enough being done to persuade school-leavers with good hands-on practical skills to take up composites and engineering apprenticeships?

“It’s estimated that the UK needs 100,000 engineers every year for the next decade to keep pace with the growth, so an interest in composites and engineering needs to be nurtured prior to the school leaving age so that the necessary educational choices are taken well in advance of completing mainstream education.

“Currently, this interest is not being developed nationally by government, schools or employers at the rate required to meet demand. To address this growing problem, companies need to engage with local government and schools/colleges to develop this interest.

“Teledyne CML Composites has been working with educational bodies in the Wirral since 2014 to promote the opportunities and develop an apprenticeship that will offer candidates on the job training with a recognised NVQ Level 3 extended diploma. The new apprenticeship commenced in March 2015 with initial intake of four and interviews will shortly get underway to identify candidates for the 2016 intake.”

Q: Does the UK engineering sector struggle with an image problem in that it’s seen as a dirty career? If so, what can be done to change this perception?

“The UK engineering sector continues to have an image problem which is no longer representative of the majority of engineering companies and certainly not of composites companies who operate to high levels of shopfloor cleanliness that are required to supply into industry in the 21st century.

“In the aerospace industry, in particular, OEM and Tier 1 customers expect the highest standards of cleanliness and nothing less will be accepted. Companies looking to attract talent need to engage with schools to dispel this image problem and have a range of methods to get this message across whether by factory visits, work experience, school organised trips to tradeshows etc.

“Whether F1, aerospace, medical or defence, working in these industries is a lot more exciting and challenging than working in insurance, so it should be an easy sell. But only through engagement will companies be able to shake off this out dated image and attract students, whether male or female, to make the necessary career choices to secure the future of this vital industry sector.”

Q: Are Government-led apprenticeship schemes any good? Are more employers creating their ‘own’ training schools due to their dissatisfaction?

“Government-led apprenticeship schemes are only as good as the input from employers and should not be shunned, but embraced and developed in co-operation to meet the needs of industry, regardless of the sector.

“Local and national government have a huge role to play in apprenticeship schemes; not least because of the funding they can offer, but also the framework that it can put in place with educational bodies nationally to offer candidates a structured apprenticeship with a recognised qualification at the end. This involvement enables SMEs to run apprenticeship schemes, which they otherwise struggle to finance.

“Teledyne CML Composites has recently engaged with the Maritime Engineering College North West in Birkenhead to run an apprenticeship scheme to coach students in all aspects of composite engineering with those successful attaining an NVQ Level 3 extended diploma in Composite Manufacturing Engineering.

“Mentors from Teledyne CML Composites have worked with large composites manufacturers in the UK to develop this apprenticeship in co-operation with the Maritime Engineering College North West as no such scheme existed.

“Without the framework of government funding and the prospect of a recognised qualification at the end for candidates, the development of this apprenticeship scheme would have been unlikely.”

Q: Would it help if composites-related academic institutions had a statement from industry that they expect to recruit ‘X’ amount of composites graduates each year?

“Composites manufacturers and UK composites-related academic institutions have a great track record in working together to drive the application of this new and exciting technology into industry. It’s the success of this and other such collaborations around the world that have resulted in the incredible growth in composites in the last 25 years.

“One area of this collaboration that has sadly been overlooked is determining where all the engineers are going to come from to keep up with this pace of growth, to date and for the next 25 years, particularly in the UK.

“If UK composites manufacturers and academic institutions worked together to publish a clear statement on the amount of composites graduates required each year, it would give the whole industry and government a focus on the task required to address the current skills shortage and perhaps enable us to steal a march on our global competitors.”

Q: Markets are created by doers, doing. Therefore, do more entrepreneurial skills need to be developed; especially as the majority of composites businesses in the UK employ fewer than 100 people?

“I have often been told that true entrepreneurs are born and not made. I accept this view, but believe that there are many entrepreneurs out there who don’t know they have these skills and need to have them coaxed to the fore.

“A good apprenticeship scheme is just such an environment to coax out of a candidate that which they are truly passionate about, whether it is their entrepreneurialism or another skill that can take a business forward.

“By introducing candidates to all facets of a business from production to quality, finance or commercial at some point during the process, if a candidate has an entrepreneurial flair, this will be present itself and this flair can be channelled to the benefit of the individual and the company alike.”

Q: What kind of negative impact could skills shortages in the composites manufacturing industry have on UK plc?

“Composites manufacturing is a truly global industry so the negative impact to UK plc of a skills shortage is simple: investors will simply look to establish or invest in their businesses elsewhere.

“There are already composites businesses in countries with lower overheads yet we remain competitive in the UK because we have highly-skilled engineers capable of manufacturing complex parts for highly specialist industries such as F1 or aerospace.

“If we lose this competitive advantage due to a skills shortage and other countries develop their composite engineering expertise, we will lose this advantage and struggle to get it back.”

Q: What about Teledyne CML’s experiences and the aims of new initiatives being put in place by Composites UK via its CAP scheme, plus any opportunities for composites-related apprenticeships?

“Teledyne CML Composites has been working for some time to meet the skills shortage head on and has invested heavily in the retraining of time served machinery and sheet metal fabrication engineers to make the move into composites manufacture.

“More recently, the launch of our apprenticeship scheme to guarantee the supply of composite engineers into the future has so far been very positive with a highly-motivated initial intake keen to learn their trade.

“In addition to our own initiatives, Teledyne CML Composites is keen to get involved in the CAP scheme, which is currently at the pilot stage and from which positive feedback has been received.

“The CAP scheme is a fabulous initiative that is seeking to put in place industry widely recognised guidelines to assist companies in assessing their employees’ skills across a range of composite manufacturing technologies, processes and methodology. Teledyne CML Composites is looking to get involved as Composites UK looks to roll it out to other manufacturers in the UK.”

Q: In what way does the CAP scheme differ from previous attempts to provide a ‘joined up thinking’ approach to tackling the issues of skills shortages?

“More so than previous attempts, the CAP scheme has positioned itself to appeal to companies across the entire composites industry rather than to specific companies or industry sectors, such as F1 or aerospace.

“Adhering to standard guidelines, the CAP scheme gives employers confidence to assess the technical competencies of the workforce and aid the recruitment of personnel, such as laminators, with the required skills levels to drive a business forward. It also facilitates the movement of skilled personnel with transferable skills who might have previously worked in F1, but who are interested in a move into the aerospace industry sectors.

“Furthermore, involvement in the CAP scheme will enable companies to demonstrate compliance of their workforce within audited schemes, such as NADCAP and ISO helping within manufacturing excellence needed in the supply chain.”

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