TRAINING
Men of steel – Front row , left to right : British Steel ’ s Owen Waugh ( electrical apprentice , Beam Mill ), Stephen Stonehouse ( maintenance engineer , Skinningrove ) and Robbie Price ( mechanical apprentice , Beam Mill ). Back row , left to right : TTE operations manager John Cooke and British Steel ’ s Jake Brown ( electrical apprentice , Skinningrove ), Steve Brown ( electrical engineer , Beam Mill ) and Tony Malone ( cranes and infrastructure engineer ).
PICTURE : TOM BANKS
FIRM FOUNDATIONS
British Steel builds on solid base with ongoing TTE apprenticeship work
Like steel itself , the relationship between TTE Technical and British Steel is most definitely built to last .
TTE , which is now part of Middlesbrough College Group , has been assisting British Steel with its apprenticeship programme for more than 40 years .
While the tasks , technology and requirements have changed considerably – as has British Steel – the core purpose of training and nurturing the skilled steel workers of tomorrow has remained constant and remains very much in demand .
“ There is a real need for skilled tradespeople in the steel industry ,” explains British Steel departmental planning engineer , Stephen Stonehouse .
“ We need people to come through from the grassroots , to carry out apprenticeships and to learn important skills from our experienced workers before they retire .
“ TTE plays a crucial role in this process – having been an apprentice there myself many years ago , I know this from experience !”
Stephen works as part of the steering group advising on apprenticeships at British Steel ’ s plants at Skinningrove and Redcar .
Between them , the two plants take on around 10 apprentices every year , sourced from appropriate NVQ and BTEC courses run at TTE after students have completed their foundational year .
Stephen explains : “ One of the reasons we use TTE is that the tutors there know the kind of people who we are looking for – people who have excellent attendance , who want to learn and want to work in industry , particularly in British Steel .
“ The tutors have seen their students over the course of a whole year , so they get to know them very well and they know their abilities and suitability for the work they ’ ll be doing at British Steel .
“ We also hold an open evening for TTE students so they can learn more about the company and the opportunities here .”
Once apprentices start at British Steel , they spend the following two years working in different departments right across the business , picking up a variety of new skills and going through different experiences so they have a full picture of the various career paths and a thorough grounding in the skills required .
During this time , their connection to TTE continues as they go on day release to reinforce the skills they learn on the job .
British Steel sees the environment in which the apprentices receive their tuition at TTE as vital to their successful progress .
Stephen says : “ It ’ s important for us that when the apprentices go into the TTE training centre that it looks and feels like an industrial space , that it ’ s like a continuation of their working environment with us .
“ This all helps to reinforce what they learn with us and things like clocking on and off , abiding by the rules and regulations , etcetera .”
The academic work which they do at TTE is assessed alongside their on-the-job training and apprentices have to undergo a final assessment to ensure they have got their academic grounding in place as well as their practical skills and abilities .
It all ends up in skilled , motivated and capable young workers ready to face a range of different challenges .
“ In the five years I have been involved in the programme , all the apprentices have been great ,” Stephen enthuses .
“ They get a good grounding with a good qualification and a lot of people say that when you ’ ve had a British Steel apprenticeship , you ’ ve had a really good apprenticeship and TTE plays a big part in that here .
“ Because of the quality of the apprenticeships , we do lose some apprentices after they qualify but a lot do stay because it is a good family environment here , we look out for each other , stick together and do the right thing by each other .”
TTE Technical is the UK ’ s leading provider of technical training to the manufacturing , engineering , oil and gas and process sectors .
Its training programmes range from foundation to advanced level including delivery of practical skills training , formal technical qualifications and assessment and verification of Vocational Qualifications across operations , maintenance , management and health and safety .
To find out how apprenticeships from TTE Technical can help your business contact Becky Brown , apprenticeship sales manager , on 07841 214964 or email r . brown @ mbro . ac . uk .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 61