Claro welcomes new apprentice

A Claro Precision Engineering product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 11, 2004

Claro Precision Engineering Ltd's on-going commitment to training has received a further boost with the appointment of its latest modern apprentice, 19-year-old Andrew Rodgers.

Claro Precision Engineering Ltd's on-going commitment to training has received a further boost with the appointment of its latest modern apprentice, 19-year-old Andrew Rodgers.

Andrew is currently finishing his first year of college based training at South Durham College, and will join the Yorkshire based company on a full-time basis from July.

He will be assured of the highest quality support from the company which is the current recipient of the prestigious GTMA World Class Award.

Howard Chadwick, Claro's managing director, is looking forward to welcoming Andrew on-board full-time.

He says: "We are absolutely committed to the quality of our training, and more generally in developing quality engineers for the future.

"We have an excellent record of training and three of our trainees were recognised last year with GTMA Craftmanship Certificates.

"We are nominating another apprentice for the same award this year.

"The level of support and training that Andrew will receive from Claro will be second to none".

Despite a lack of local training places in the area - apprentices have to travel up to 50 miles to either Malton or Newton Aycliffe for first year off-the-job training - Claro is encouraging young people to choose engineering as a career.

The company is pleased that at last there seems to have been a recognition by government, after many years of underfunding, that money needs to be put into supporting new apprentices to address the skills shortages in the industry.

Mr Chadwick says: "Training young people to become the best in engineering costs money.

"Students need to be trained on the latest equipment and often require one-to-one support.

"It is vital that the industry, with the support of the Government, does everything possible to attract young people to overcome the current skills shortages".

Fellow director Tim Godolphin is adamant that the best quality training is essential for the future of the industry.

As he puts it: "Training is everyone's right and everyone's responsibility.

"We know that today's trainees are tomorrow's trainers, and we do all we can to ensure that all staff receive the best training possible".

The company is currently completing a training programme to ensure that all production staff are fully trained to use the recently installed CNC CMM machine for the verification of components.

As one of the very first in the county to be awarded Investors in People (IIP) status, the company is delighted that its status has been renewed for another three years after a recent reassessment.

In addition, the company's SEMTA registration as a Training Assessment Centre has been renewed for the next two years - an essential requirement in order to support the necessary training needed to ensure that the company can continue to develop and grow.

And Claro's commitment to the industry doesn't stop there - the directors are currently working with Harrogate College and advising them on the new applied GCSE engineering course.

There can be no doubt then that when Andrew takes his place alongside the company's employees in July he will be joining one of the best and most committed companies in the country for training.