Following its launch in October 2017, Coventive Composites is the new name for NetComposites’ consultancy, training and innovation services. In a Q&A session, Composites in Manufacturing hears more about its range of training programmes.
Building upon its ever popular one-day ‘Introduction to Composites’ training course, Coventive Composites has recently launched an expanded, two-day version, which takes attendees out of the classroom and into the workshop.
Here they get the chance to put their learning into practice and try out some of the process techniques that are introduced in the classroom modules, such as hand lay-up, vacuum infusion, resin transfer moulding and compression moulding.
Q) Looking back, do today’s younger generation tend to approach composites in a different way to traditional materials?
I don’t necessarily think that it is a generational issue. The reality is that anyone working with composites has to approach them in a different way to traditional materials. On all our training courses we emphasise this point, making sure that delegates are clear on both the potential advantages and disadvantages of designing something in composites, and also make them aware of some of the particular challenges and opportunities that composites present.
Q) Tell me more about your training programme and do they align themselves in any way to other UK training programmes currently in existence?
Our training programme currently encompasses three offerings: One-day Introduction to Composites course - designed to give a broad introduction to polymer composites, this course provides attendees with the necessary background knowledge to enable informed discussions with customers, colleagues and collaborators; Two-day classroom, plus practical course - this course takes attendees out of the classroom and into the workshop, where they will gain first-hand experience of composites processing and testing; Bespoke packages - in which we can tailor the course content, duration and location to suit our customers specific requirements.
Q) Is there a danger that the ‘parochial’ nature of local courses will only ever benefit local industries? Are you seeing students travelling from afar to attend these courses?
In our experience, their principle selection criteria are the quality of course content and the experience of the tutors, rather than proximity to their local base. Location of the course - and its contribution to the overall costs of attending - then comes into play as a secondary factor. This is where Coventive is somewhat fortunate to have a pretty central location within the UK, with good road, rail and airport connections. Our courses typically attract attendees from across the UK and Ireland, whilst our two most recent courses have also seen attendees travel from as far afield as Italy and Austria, so we must be doing something right!
There are, of course, cases where extended travelling times and/or time away from the office is just not possible. In these situations, we are able to offer on-site training packages, at a location and time to suit our customers. We have also previously done online training where delegates can join remotely.
Speaking more generally; as training providers we need to recognise that our target customers operate in extremely competitive environments with multiple, competing demands on their time and budgets. If we want them to sign up to our courses, we must clearly communicate the value of our offering, in a way that allows them to justify the investment they are being asked to make.
Q) What kind of split is there between practical and theory on your courses?
Our two-day course offers an approximately 50:50 split between classroom and practical modules.
Q) How well does your training centre’s aims, approaches, course content and subject matter align with things like the Composite Assured Practitioner (CAP)?
We see ourselves fulfilling a particular training need that sits alongside schemes such as CAP. We get many delegates on our courses who don’t have technical roles within their company. They might be working in sales, marketing, business development or finance, and are looking for a concise, but commercially aware, introduction to the subject.
Q) Is there a chronic skills shortage for UK composites and engineering industries that employ composites in manufacture, from F1 to aerospace, and medical to defence?
There are differing opinions on this. A couple of years ago, Coventive carried out a survey of the UK automotive composites supply chain and, even within this single sector, the feedback on training and skills varied significantly. At one end, there were those who believed there to be a serious lack of engineering skills in the UK at the present time. Conversely, there were those who said that finding skilled engineering graduates was not a problem. A number of the OEMs pointed, more specifically, to a lack of expertise in volume manufacturing with composites, and to a lack of experience in designing for composites.
Most tended to agree that graduates often lacked specific in-depth composites knowledge, however many companies accepted this and were prepared to invest in in-house training to bridge the gap.
There was a recognition of the efforts being taken by some Universities to increase the composites-related content within their courses. However, some complained that the focus of many courses was too academic to meet the real-world requirements of industry. One issue which the majority did appear to agree upon, however, was the difficulty in recruiting and retaining experienced, skilled technicians and shopfloor operatives.
Q) Do you need to have a ‘composites’ degree or is it better to possess a good fundamental engineering degree, and an understanding of engineering material properties, essentially in 3D?
This answer will, of course, vary depending upon the organisation and the role in question. In the short-to-medium term, volume application of composites is likely to be driven by the kind of multi-material approach to structure design which we have seen for a number of years in the aerospace and, more recently automotive sectors. This would suggest that a combination of composites and fundamental engineering knowledge is best. Over time, one would hope that standard course come to reflect this and include more in-depth study of composites as the norm.
At Coventive, our customers might be resin producers, nanomaterial developers, textile manufacturers, OEMs, so it’s beneficial for our team to be drawn from a variety of backgrounds. To that end, we currently employ a combination of materials scientists, engineers, chemists and designers, alongside composites specialists.
Q) Finally, what kinds of personal attributes can one possess in order to gain as much as possible from undergoing this kind of training?
As with any training, having the right attitude is key. A scientific or engineering background is not an essential prerequisite for our introductory courses.
