Mueller Europe have taken on two Apprentice Mechanical Engineers within their Maintenance department as part of their involvement in Next Gen Makers.
The Bilston headquartered firm manufacture copper tube for plumbing, heating and industrial applications and recognised the need to future proof their workforce due to a combination of several shop floor employees nearing retirement age and in preparation for future investments in automation.
“Historically we have recruited Apprentices into Mechanical and Maintenance roles, many of whom have since progressed into management positions, which shows the level of opportunity here for aspiring engineers” comments Neil York, Director of Management Services at Mueller Europe.
Neil continues: “Following significant capital investment and also a strategic review of the workforce it was decided that we should kick start our Apprenticeship program with regular yearly intakes of Engineering Apprentices into shop floor roles”.
Mueller Europe joined as Champions of Next Gen Makers and has since opened their doors for factory tours for local Engineering students and continues to engage in careers related activity at local schools and colleges to inspire more young people to think about a career in manufacturing at the company.
As part of this year’s Apprenticeship intake, Cyrus Bryan and Rhys Winsper were successful in gaining the two available Apprentice Mechanical Engineer positions. The Apprenticeship will be delivered by Dudley College.
“Cyrus and Rhys have been with us for around a month now and have settled into our workforce extremely well. The plan is for them to learn the practical side of engineering, complimenting the education that they gained at College by getting hands on within the Maintenance Department as part of regular processes and troubleshooting/problem solving”.
Moving forward, Neil and his team will continue to engage with Next Gen Makers to ensure Mueller Europe is well positioned as an employer of choice for the next generation of engineers for years to come.
Neil concludes: “It is vitally important that manufacturers like ours actively play our part to inspire more young engineers to come into our sector. As well as creating opportunities for young people, we are also benefiting from an increased pool of talent to recruit from for our Apprentice program, which increases the chance of us finding the gems like Rhys and Cyrus”.
Mueller Europe take on 2 Apprentice Mechanical Engineers via Next Gen Makers
