Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 34 | Page 7

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7 /NEWS /ADVICE John Bayne and Gillian Atwell from 3M with Matt Gatiss from South West Durham Training and the full-time electrical mechanical students. ANOTHER CHANCE FOR GROWTH WORKSHOPS Former apprentice gives engineering students 3M plant tour A former South West Durham Training apprentice gave 16 engineering students who hope to follow in his footsteps a tour of 3M’s Newton Aycliffe plant. John Bayne, plant engineering group leader at 3M, showed the group of full-time electrical mechanical students, who all hope to secure engineering apprenticeships at the end of their course, various processes and systems and explained how deadlines are met. The visit was arranged by South West Durham Training and 3M to mark National Apprenticeship Week. 3M, which employs 400 people on Aycliffe Business Park, manufactures reusable and disposable respirators and car care products including finishing compounds and polishes. It has a long standing relationship with SWDT, and currently has seven apprentices in maintenance engineering, mechanical and electrical with the training provider, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last December. John Bayne said: “For several decades South West Durham Training has been assisting 3M with not only apprenticeship training but also manual handling, abrasive wheels training, slinging and lifting, maintainer assessment, apprentice recruitment, 17th Edition and various types of fault finding and pneumatics training.” Speaking about his own apprenticeship at SWDT, John added: “It gave me a broad experience of engineering skills including welding, fabricating, basic hand tool skills, use of lathes, millers and drilling machines, and then on to specialising in electrical maintenance. “My advice to young people looking at taking an engineering apprenticeship would be to have a curious mind, don’t be afraid to ask questions and relish every challenge that comes your way. “Also, try to experience as many engineering disciplines as possible before concentrating on one or two particular areas.” 3M have a regular intake of apprentices, which are advertised on the SWDT website and the Government’s ‘Find an apprenticeship’ website. Big Club making big savings N ewton Aycliffe Workingmen’s Club and Institute, known as The Big Club, is reaping the rewards of energy efficiency after teaming up with a council project. The Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) is a Durham County Council led project, supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to help small businesses in County Durham save money by reducing their energy consumption. The Big Club contacted BEEP after its new management committee decided to identify areas of the company where money was being wasted. The BEEP team carried out a free in-depth energy audit on the premises and identified the most cost effective solutions; replacing the inefficient internal and external cellar chiller units, updating the lighting in the building and replacing the outdated drinks pump chiller units in the cellar and bar areas. The Big Club was awarded a 40% grant from BEEP to support the cost of purchase and installation of replacing the cellar chiller units with modern equipment. Back in February, the Durham Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP), on behalf of the Aycliffe Business Park Community, launched a series of exclusive growth workshops for Aycliffe business. Fourteen people from 12 businesses attended the first session delivered by Gary Scott of Consult the Experts. Gary has helped over 300 businesses with their business growth planning ranging from micro to multinational businesses. The aim of the workshops is to identify areas where businesses can start to grow and then create a deliverable business plan around them. They are aimed at giving practical advice and support tailored to growing your business and are interactive, fun and engaging. Participants can always expect lots of group discussion, ideas generation, problem solving and interaction. The next session is taking place on the morning of May 18 at South West Durham Training and is going to look at how to align your sales and marketing strategies with your business objectives and engage suppliers to help you to achieve business growth. You will also receive expert one to one mentoring to support you with your business growth planning. Places are limited but you can find out more information and register on the events page of the Aycliffe Business Park website (aycliffebusinesspark.co.uk). In order to attend this event your business must be based on the business park. DBOP is a three-year programme for SMEs which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Business Durham. Further workshops are due to be held on May 18 (at SWDT) and July 20 (at Planet Leisure). The club also worked with the brewery to replace the pump chiller units, and took the BEEP team’s advice to replace the lighting throughout the building with LEDs. The Business Energy Efficiency Project launched in 2017, in partnership with Business Durham. The team provides County Durham SMEs with fully-funded energy audits and advice and offers grant funds to support the installation of energy efficient equipment. Businesses interested in finding out more about the BEEP can visit www.beep.uk.net or email [email protected] Businesses can still join future workshops, subject to places being available, so for more information and how to register contact me by email at [email protected] or give me a call on 01207 291 268. We look forward to hearing from you! Lisa Wall Business engagement officer, Business Durham Durham Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP)