Frimley, UK, 2016-Nov-23
- Siemens celebrates the graduation of 27 apprentice engineers
- The culmination of four years of study and placement
- The sixth year of the Ofsted-outstanding rated apprenticeship scheme
Hosted by managing director Grant Walker in Newcastle, in excess of 100 people attended to pay tribute to the apprentices’ having finished four years of work and study. Guests included parents, partners, and senior management from Siemens.
Those graduating have earned the NVQ ‘Wind Turbine Maintenance and Troubleshooting’ qualification through two years’ study interwoven with two years’ service in the business. Equally daunting for some apprentices, the location of some of the wind farms upon which they have trained has meant that they have had to move away from home and live in another, often remote, community.
Head of Operation Support and Training Carl Robb speaks warmly of the graduates, “We had the graduation ceremony to recognise just how far the apprentices have come in four years. From knowing very little about the technology, the company and the wider impact their valuable work will have, they have become skilled technicians capable of being deployed to work on any of our turbines. Additionally, they have all developed into being fantastic ambassadors for our business, and for wind power generally.”
The apprentices join a growing family of talent nurtured through the Siemens Wind Power apprentices scheme. Now in its sixth year, full-time employees having graduated through this course account for approximately 10% of the current workforce of technicians. A further 62 apprentices are currently at various points in the qualification, working towards qualification and deployment.
Managing director Grant Walker says, “The looming skills shortage in engineering has been known about for some time now. Having put in a great deal of planning and preparation, six years ago we began this apprentices’ programme to address the skills shortfall. It’s a tribute to the quality of both the programme and the apprentices that OFSTED this year recognised our apprenticeship schemes as Outstanding. It’s a great pleasure, once a year, to welcome another group of fully-fledged engineers into the business.”
ENDS
Find out more about Siemens Wind Power by visiting http://www.siemens.com/global/en/home/markets/wind.html
Images are available by visiting http://www.siemens.co.uk/en/news_press/press_releases/
Contact for journalists
Guy Dorrell
Phone: +44 7808 823177
E-mail: guy.dorrell@siemens.com
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Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
