INVESTING heavily into apprentices has allowed a key Gloucestershire business to prepare for the future. Messier-Bugatti-Dowty's maintenance, repair and overhaul division (MRO) currently has 12 apprentices, who make up five per cent of its workforce.
The Staverton-based aerospace company has now been entered for The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo 2012 Business Awards. The business runs an apprenticeship programme which offers a four-year mechanical engineering bias, now it has been nominated for the Apprentice Development award.
The original Dowty Apprenticeship programme at its peak employed around 200 apprentices a year.
The MRO division is attempting to utilise the foundations of this programme.
Its training programme has developed an exchange programme with some of its customers and sister company Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, to enable the apprentices of all parties to experience both customer and supplier expectations. Managing director Paul Clifford, who is an ex-Dowty apprentice himself, said: "We have formed our Apprenticeship Programme that takes young enthusiastic people and combines training and work to develop competent and qualified professionals, not only for the workplace but also to be excellent ambassadors and representatives of our company within our community. "The quantity of applications we receive each year I believe is testament to the quality of our apprenticeship scheme and the confidence in the applicants that the company has a strong commitment to the programme. "With continued forward growth predictions we took a conscious decision to invest heavily in an apprenticeship programme. "Apprenticeships help to ensure that the group will have the specialised skills and expertise needed to maintain its competitive advantage now and in the future." The MRO division has offered continued support for people after their apprenticeships, in terms of education. This includes diplomas, degree courses and MBAs.
Many of the company's senior managers, middle managers, team leaders and production staff are also former Dowty apprentices. Messier-Bugatti-Dowty MRO employs 239 people. Its Staverton site is the maintenance, repair and overhaul centre of excellence for Airbus single aisle, regional and military aircraft.
The apprentice selection process involves three stages. It includes an initial assessment in numeracy, mechanical aptitude, logic and literacy, an interview and a discovery day.
We will be profiling entrants to the The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo 2012 Business Awards culminating in a gala dinner at the Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, in October.
To enter visit www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/businessawards
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