Potential collaboration to help bridge skills gap

BTEC/HNC Machinist specialist tutor Anthony Garnett and General Manager Jonathan Hall visited MEC Machine Tools yesterday to discuss a potential collaboration.

Pictured (l-r) are Anthony Garnet, Grant Middleton and Jonathan Hall

The Great Ayton-based machine tool supplier specializes in EDM (Electro Discharge Machine) sales, service, training and tooling.

MD Liam Eley, a former SWDT student, and Applications and Tooling Manager Grant Middleton kindly showed Tony and Jonathan around the facility and discussed possible partnership working going forward.

There was a combined passion to collaborate further to help bridge a regional skills gap in the use of wire erosion precision engineering, using SWDT as a training facility to service the needs of a number of local companies.

This technology is widely used in the aerospace, motorsport, injection moulding and sub-sea manufacturing sectors.

Jonathan said: “It was so refreshing and motivational to meet an employer who wants to collaborate to bridge the wider skills gap in engineering. I am keen to meet with any other employers who feel they can contribute to this.”

Liam and Grant will be at the Open Evening next Thursday, March 21, and will be bringing a EXCETEK HD30Z fast hole EDM drill machine with them.

If you would like to attend - and also meet a number of other companies - at next week's Open Evening, please register here.

Liam is a previous student at SWDT and has also agreed to attend the reunion of previous staff members on April 25. Former staff and students can register to attend here.