Burcas Invests in Aerospace Training
Posted : Fri 10th Nov 2006 @ 13:24Specialist aerospace component machinist, Burcas, is investing in staff training - nearly 50 employees have already achieved NVQ qualifications in various engineering disciplines with the assistance of assessors and verifiers from Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham.
The National Vocational Qualifications are being delivered entirely in the workplace, removing the need for substantial ‘off the job' time to attend college. The assessor and verifier for the awards make regular visits to Burcas to carry out workplace observation and assessment, deliver additional knowledge (such as updates on changes to health and safety legislation) and understanding, and guide and advise employees on identification and presentation of evidence of their competence.
In a tough time for UK manufacturing, the country's aerospace sector is a shining light. It is the largest in the world outside the US and a significant driver of regional and national economic growth and productivity. The UK employs around 120,000 people in an industry that generates sales of nearly £23 billion annually.
At Burcas, the aerospace machining section specialises in the manufacture and subcontract machining of highly complex critical components and precision tooling used in the aerospace sector. The section runs on 24-hour shifts, with the throughput of many complex parts being less than three weeks. Burcas has enjoyed much success in this industry, recently securing a significant order from a Japanese aerospace company to provide machining for landing gear parts.
Burcas is aware that much of its aerospace success is due to the expertise of its staff. To this end the company commenced an intensive and ongoing programme of staff training in 2004 in partnership with Matthew Boulton College of Further and Higher Education.
"The aerospace sector is growing rapidly and we want to be recognised as a British company investing in staff training," explains Quality/Operations Manager, Terry Nelson. "Training is also highly important to ongoing competitiveness, as well as boosting staff morale. We selected Matthew Boulton College after nearly 12 months of discussions because it has an established reputation for excellence with particular expertise in assisting aerospace-related companies."
Matthew Boulton College of Further and Higher Education has been serving the needs of Birmingham and the Midlands region for over 100 years. It currently serves over 10,000 students and is recognised widely for the depth and quality of its educational provision and its vocational teaching in particular. Last year it moved to £40 million purpose built premises in the centre of Birmingham in the area around Millennium Point, which is to provide a vibrant learning quarter with MBC at the centre.
To date 30 Burcas staff have achieved NVQ Level 2 in Performing Manufacturing Operations (PMO), and a further 18 have attained NVQ Level 3 in Engineering Production. Currently part-way through are a further 10 doing NVQ Level 2 PMO and six undertaking NVQ Level 3 Mechanical Engineering Manufacture, a new course that has specifically designed units to ensure personnel can demonstrate CNC machining competence. A percentage of the courses undertaken by Burcas have been completed with the assistance of Train to Gain - new funding support for Level 2 learners introduced recently by the Learning and Skills Council.
"Burcas has been a customer of ours for around two and a half years," says Peter Reeves, Lecturer, Assessor and Internal Verifier at MBC. "As a family-owned engineering company, it has a refreshing attitude to investment, not just regarding the latest CNC machine tools, but also in its staff."
This investment is not going without recognition. At last year's GTMA Conference, Burcas was awarded the Rudolf Carne Cup for enterprise in training, as a direct result of pursuing relevant NVQs in partnership with Matthew Boulton College.
A major advantage of NVQs is that they take place at the workplace, so there is minimal disruption to ongoing business activities. Each NVQ consists of a number of modules/units that need to be completed and assessed to check that the individual has attained the necessary competence. If not, ‘underpinning knowledge' is applied before re-assessment takes place. Once the assessor is happy, the work is verified internally by the college and then externally by the awarding body to test the quality of the provision (as mapped against industry standards) before the qualification is issued.
NVQ Level 2 in PMO incorporates three mandatory units: complying with statutory regulations and organisational safety requirements; promoting effective working relationships; and contributing to effective team working. Students also select a predetermined number of optional units, which together with the mandatory units make up the qualification. Optional topics are wide ranging and include: preparing for manufacturing operations; ensuring effective handover of manufacturing operations; receiving and checking incoming materials; contributing to improving effectiveness in the workplace; and analysing the results of inspection and confirming quality of production.
Although a PMO NVQ level 2 can be completed in three months, between 6-12 months is more typical. Age, experience and release time all have an effect on the amount of time required.
"The benefit of NVQ is that we can go as fast as a student can progress," says Mr Reeves. "However, the support we have been given by Burcas has been fantastic. We have a great relationship with the management team at Burcas and their commitment to this programme of training has been exceptional."
The Midlands Aerospace Alliance has also been impressed with the results achieved by the Burcas/MBC partnership - in fact MBC has recently joined Burcas as a member of the organisation, which was formed in 2003 to support and represent the aerospace industry across the Midlands region, East and West.
"Many MAA members are in the process of achieving the aerospace equivalent of BS9001 quality standard (AS EN 9100), which demands that ideally all personnel involved in the design, administration and manufacture of aerospace products shall be accredited to NVQ Level 2, and preferably Level 3," adds Mr Reeves. "I can envisage many companies taking their cue from Burcas and following this route."
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