Apprenticeships

Our mission is to help our member companies in Staffordshire to ‘inspire the next generation of makers’ in local Colleges and Secondary Schools and successfully engage students in positive experiences with employers – our ‘Champions’.

Next Gen Makers enables engineering employers to achieve this, through organised and facilitated events with local Colleges and Schools such as Factory Visits, Work Experience, Careers Talks, Speaker Opportunities and managed recruitment.

Our Champions recognise that it is business critical to future proof their workforce and that they have a responsibility to inspire and engage the next generation into their business and industry.

There is no better way to discover a future apprentice and inspire the next generation of makers.

There is a Shortage of Circa 20,000 Young Engineers Annually in the West Mids

The region is home to 25,000 plus Engineering and Manufacturing businesses that form supply chains for the aerospace, automotive, medical, defence and construction sectors amongst others. It is also home to a thriving advanced manufacturing sector and whilst being the crucible of the first Industrial Revolution, is well placed to lead the fourth, Industry 4.0.

Engineering and manufacturing is a significant wealth creator of the UK Economy generating 23% of UK turnover, employing over 5 million people and producing most of our global exports.

Engineering skills remain in short supply and for too long this sector has had difficulty attracting and  retaining the best young talent mainly due to lack of awareness of the exciting career opportunities that exist and perceptions of the sector.

We work with our partner Colleges and Schools to create a platform for engineering employers, our ‘Champions’, to engage and inspire young people in Staffordshire and throughout the West Midlands via facilitated events such as Factory Visits, Work Experience, Careers Talks, Speaker Q and A Opportunities and more.