Apprentices aim to make the grade
A group of 10 young apprentices have just begun a four year journey with Weir Valves and Controls to become the next generation of qualified engineers. The successful applicants, aged between 16 and 21, grew up locally near Weir’s facility in Elland and will undergo a professional development programme aiming to graduate with an Apprenticeship Certificate from the Sector Skills Council (SSC).
This year three craftsmen, one welder and six technical apprentices have been selected for the programme.
During the development programme the apprentices will undertake part of their training with a local training provider as well as attending classes one day a week at the local college.
Apprentices qualify to operate a wide range of equipment from manual lathes and milling machines to state of the art technology. Once this training is complete the apprentices are ready to fulfil roles at the facility, which serves power, nuclear and industrial customers.
Pieter Schoeman, managing director at Weir, said: “We welcome these apprentices to the team and wish them well as they embark on their careers with Weir. We are committed to supporting the next genera- tion of engineers and we see real value in our apprentices undergoing rigorous training like this.
“It means the right foundations are set in terms of operating safely and working at the highest engineering standards.”