The first ever Next Gen Makers in person member meet up was expertly hosted by Festo GB at their Northampton HQ this past Thursday.
At the event, representatives of member companies of Next Gen Makers were treated to a morning of insight, best practice sharing and networking.
This included an apprentice panel discussion, featuring various Festo apprentices who shared their journeys within Festo’s scheme, which has achieved the Gold standard ‘Excellent Employer’ status within the Next Gen Makers Engineering Apprenticeships: Employer Accreditation.
The panel was followed by a Q&A discussion where other member companies had the chance to ask questions regarding the Festo apprentice experience, as well as engage in peer-to-peer ideas sharing. The morning event closed with a tour of Festo’s world class facilities.
Michaela Coxon, Senior Management Assistant and Early Careers Manager at Festo GB commented: “We were delighted to host Next Gen Makers members meeting in our Exhibition room.
“It was a fantastic day of knowledge sharing, networking and celebrating the value apprenticeships bring to the industry.
“Our degree apprentices and sales academy delivered an inspiring apprenticeship panel followed by a lively Q&A session and tour, demonstrating their confidence and technical expertise”.
The event was a first of a kind for the Next Gen Makers Engineering Apprenticeships: Best Practice Programme community and was attended by 25 different member companies. This format of event will now become an annual fixture in the Next Gen Makers member events calendar.
Lucy Hickerman, Memberships Success Manager at Next Gen Makers adds: “It’s important that our members can come together to share ideas, help each other by sharing best practices and celebrate the hard work that goes into establishing successful schemes. Festo offered the perfect opportunity to do this for the first time and I am looking forward to many more members meet ups at other locations around the country”.