On Thursday July 11th, around 20 pupils from Westwood Academy school in Coventry left the classroom to step into the world of modern engineering. The children visited Oleo’s factory in Coventry to see first-hand what opportunities are available to today’s engineering apprentices.
The elevator and train buffer manufacturer competes successfully on the global stage and has more than 1,500,000 units in circulation. To continue with its three centuries of product innovation and inspiring future engineers, Oleo International and Savery Hydraulics aims to address the widening skills gap by nurturing new talent.
Apprentices have a huge role to play in the company’s future and accessing a wider talent pool is one of the company’s strategic priorities. The manufacturer is particularly keen to attract a more diverse workforce. TA Savery currently employs a number of female engineers at its home in Coventry and is keen to encourage more young women to enter the profession.
Carl Tidman, Manufacturing and CI Manager for Oleo said: “Globally, manufacturing and engineering is going through ground-breaking changes, which is leading to a shortage of skills in some of the key areas. It’s vitally important that businesses engage with schools and colleges to attract the right talent, and we’re keen to do what we can to show young people what a great career engineering is. As one of the longest standing engineering businesses, we’re delighted that we are continuing to influence the engineers of tomorrow.”
TA Savery’s Marketing Manager Ros McGill has worked to forge closer links with local schools and joined forces with Sally Hodge, Head of Careers at Westwood Academy to arrange the visit.
Pupils were welcomed into the factory and given a presentation explaining the rich history of the company. They visited Oleo’s Research & Development workshop to look at some of the key projects the company is currently working including its new Digital Rail software designed to significantly improve rail safety. They also had a tour of key facilities, including the Test Lab, Titan Rig and Metrology Room. After the tour, the pupils had a chance to chat to current apprentices about what their day-to-day work involves.
Sally Hodge commented: “We are committed to working in partnership with a wide range of employers and were delighted to be able to team up with OLEO to enable our Year 10 Engineering students to have a most valuable insight into the practical work-related applications of this subject. Pupils benefited from speaking first-hand to employees and were able to explore not only engineering applications but a variety of careers in this sector. A highly informative tour of the workplace allowed students to experience all stages of production. The students thoroughly enjoyed their visit and being able to see the skills that they are developing at school being used in the workplace. We would like to thank all staff involved at OLEO for this fantastic opportunity!”