Two of Europe's largest aerospace recruiters are emphasising the importance of successful marketing of the industry in schools and universities, and are hoping that courses for students can be tailored to better prepare them for aerospace roles.
Rolls-Royce's head of learning operations Graham Schuhmacher says his company's involvement with the next generation of mechanics and engineers begins at the earliest level. "We never take our foot off the pedal on educational awareness," he says, "from seven- to eight-year-olds, right up to university. We must promote engineering as a leading-technology international industry to attract the best people." Typically for an engineering company its size, R-R's self-promotion in educational institutions ranges from inter-school team design projects based around its major Derby, UK, site to providing work experience and fee-sponsorship for suitable university undergraduates.
Schuhmacher says the industry needs more help in promoting itself, however. "We need independent professional careers advice in schools," he says, "people who know what industries are really like. The UK's Connexions service may go some way to delivering this, but it's still in its infancy."
Like R-R in the UK, Franck Boque, training programme manager at Snecma Services' customer training school, explains that Snecma is contributing to French school courses for 16 to 20-year-olds, to better prepare students for roles in the aircraft and engine maintenance industry. "Students in French engineering schools will have specific course modules on engine management, which Snecma Services is advising on," he says. He adds that the company also provides course help and direction for France's technical lycées.
This collaboration of companies and schools on industry education initiatives and more technically oriented curricula is aimed at encouraging a new breed of high-flyer to graduate engineering roles, and preparing would-be technicians for the information technology-dominated workshop of the future. Once new staff are installed in an organisation, then the training can begin in earnest.
Tracy Ross, early career development manager at R-R, says graduates going into R-R's engineering division typically pursue a one- to two-year scheme that equips them with technical training and a broad knowledge of the overall business. "We take in about 230 graduates every year, the aerospace businesses accounting for 75% of the total," she says. The company tries to attract graduates while they are still at university, offer a paid three- to 12-month undergraduate scheme, after which R-R provides a bursary of £1,500 ($2,350) to around 50 undergraduates who it wants to retain once qualified.
The R-R Derby graduates move around the business during the scheme. "We strongly encourage our graduates to gain international experience, particularly at our R-R Deutschland facility," says Ross. "Small business-type management experience is gained by working in teams of four to six on 10-week projects," she adds.
Schuhmacher says: "We're looking for technologists. First and foremost we are a technology company. Although management and leadership training forms a large part of our efforts, we set up the Fellowship programme to provide recognition for technical expert roles." Despite the technical degrees of much of R-R's target graduates, Schuhmacher says the sector's major graduate recruitment competition comes from the consultancy, financial and IT sectors.
For its non-graduate engineering requirements, the company runs a two- to three-year scheme for its modern apprentices - 16- to 19-year-old school leavers training for roles as skilled fitters and machinists or computer modelling and manufacturing engineering roles. "The basic skills imparted in the first year of training have not changed much over the years, but the further training has evolved to cover lean engineering and modern practices, and ties in with government-led National Vocational Qualifications [NVQ]", says Schuhmacher. With the NVQ framework defined by industry and government together, the system matches industry needs very well, he explains, adding: "Engineering has a history of matching training to our requirements." Schuhmacher says there is a retention rate of over 90% for R-R's apprentices and graduates after completion of training.
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Source: Flight International
