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Finding the right talent is crucial – especially in a highly technical sector like the maritime industry. But long-standing skills gaps and people shortages are holding many engineering and manufacturing businesses back.
Engineering & Manufacturing T Levels have been designed to help solve both these problems. T Levels are part of a reformed education system in England, created with employers to standardise technical qualifications across the whole country.
They give young people a combination of practical skills and essential theory, so they can step straight into work as a valuable member of your team.
Each T Level includes a 45-day industry placement hosted by an employer. As well as giving students on-the-job experience, these placements help businesses in the maritime sector find future employees – such as Rigging Projects, who say T Level industry placements are a great, fast-track route to recruitment for them.
Based in Southampton, Rigging Projects is a 10-year-old engineering and manufacturing business producing textile and hardware products for the marine industry. The firm manufactures everything from deck hardware for simple racing yachts through to mast, boom and rigging solutions for high-end superyachts around the world.
The last two and a half years has seen the business rapidly expand, and their team has grown from eight to 42 employees. As COO Sam Sainsbury explains, this pace of growth highlighted the need to broaden the team’s skillset in key areas: “We’ve got some amazing machinists, but it took me a year and a half to find them and get them to that level. Then there’s a big skills gap. We knew we needed to do some succession planning, so we got in touch with the Southampton College Group.”
After interviewing a group of T Level students, they found Bradley, who fit in well with the business’s core values and has quickly become part of the team.
Bradley has been immersed in different parts of the business, from quality control to finishing, part-picking and programming. He’s also worked on milling and turning. “He has a really positive attitude” says Sam, “it’s always daunting starting in a new business, but he’s grown in confidence to become an integral part of the team.”
Bradley’s enthusiasm and hard work has impressed the whole team. “It’s great, as he’s already thinking with a technical mindset. Quality control’s not just about looking at something to see if it looks good, it’s about measuring and tolerancing – he’s picked it up so quickly.”
The company is now on the lookout for their next apprentices and keen to offer Bradley the chance to join after he completes his T Level course next year. “He’s chosen to come back in the summer, which shows his enthusiasm for the job,” Sam says. “It’s so important for growing businesses to find the next generation of engineers. Sam concludes: “The whole team has loved having Bradley here. It’s been straightforward to set up, so we’ll be hosting more T Level students next year.”
Interested in hosting a T Level industry placement? Find out more at: employers.tlevels.gov.uk