Today is a very special day within the manufacturing industry…
The 28th of September marks ‘National Manufacturing Day’, endorsed by MakeUK, who champion engineering and manufacturing across the UK. MakeUK offer services including training and helping individuals and businesses find apprenticeships.
Lionweld Kennedy have been proudly manufacturing in the UK for over 110 years, which is why we’re delighted to participate in this important day. Today, we will discuss apprenticeships within the manufacturing industry and speak with some of our apprentices to learn more about their experience working in manufacturing at Lionweld Kennedy Group.
What is a manufacturing apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships are great alternatives for traditional educational routes such as University. Combining education with practical learning is an exciting prospect for young adults, especially when you add a sustainable wage.
Typical manufacturing apprenticeships involve working in your designated area with supervision, learning from your colleagues and team and gaining practical knowledge. There are also designated days for college, where the individual will receive the education to run alongside the course, which will provide them with health and safety and other important elements to assist with their apprenticeship.
Both elements of an apprenticeship provide a fully rounded experience into an individual’s chosen line of work, which makes it a great option for young people.
What are the benefits to an apprenticeship in manufacturing?
There are various benefits to starting a career in manufacturing for both the business and the individual. We will be specifically looking into apprenticeships within the manufacturing industry and the great opportunities these can offer.
Job Security
Manufacturing as an industry has been thriving for many years with various companies offering apprenticeships roles across their business. This is a brilliant pathway into the industry, securing stable and well-paid jobs.
Apprentices will learn niche and very specialist skills but also important transferable skills such as problem-solving, teamworking and adaptability. Combining these equips an apprentice with skills that are highly sought-after by employers in the manufacturing industry, further increasing their job opportunities.
An apprenticeship in manufacturing sets the solid base for a lifelong career. The skills and knowledge learned throughout the apprenticeship equip someone to take on higher-level jobs within the business and move throughout departments, developing new skills along the way. Many manufacturing businesses prioritise promoting within the same business, rather than hiring new people, helping apprentices to climb their way to a higher paid role armed with a broad skillset.
Hands-on learning
Unlike classroom-based learning, apprentices have the opportunity to learn the skills on the line. Apprentices learn first-hand how to fabricate, or weld, or fix a machine. Working in a real world setting alongside experienced professionals is a great way to gain practical knowledge and fine tune the skills that are developed whilst working towards a recognised qualification. Practical learning can often be a more preferable way of learning for some young adults.
Earning while learning
A great benefit for apprentices is that they can earn money throughout their apprenticeship. Having a sustainable wage allows apprentices to learn skills such as budgeting. Without the worries of student debts also, apprentices can get financial independence to support themselves while developing their careers.
Various roles
Manufacturing is vast. Depending on the business and their size, there is often various apprenticeship roles. This creates many great opportunities to explore interests and skill bases. For the business, it allows them to develop a task force of younger employees who are gaining valuable skills.
There has been a skill gap within specialist manufacturing businesses across England as trained employees reach retirement level. Training the younger generation helps to fill the skills gap and produces a new generation of skilled workers.
Lionweld Kennedy employee apprentices across our business, from welding and fabrication, to logistics, drawing office, QA and maintenance. We have developed an award-winning training programme to provides our apprentices with opportunities to create a long-standing career in manufacturing. We have been speaking to various apprentices across our factory and office to find out more about their apprenticeship experience in manufacturing:
We are proud to be the UK’s only manufacturer of steel grating and delighted to join MakeUK in celebrating everything that is great about manufacturing on National Manufacturing Day.
There are many vacancies currently available at Lionweld Kennedy. We are looking for apprentice roles including a HR assistant (HR Assistant Level 3 Apprenticeship) and a Logistics Co-ordinator (Transport planning technician Level 3). There are also multiple other permanent roles available. Join a growing manufacturing business today and be part of this fast-paced industry: https://lk-uk.com/about/careers/.