engineering

Chesterfield celebrates town’s innovation and skills this National Manufacturing Day

As National Manufacturing Day 2024 (26 September) shines a spotlight on the industry nationally, Chesterfield’s manufacturers have spoken about why they love working in the sector, and how they’re navigating current challenges.

Manufacturing represents 8% of all employment in the town, significantly higher than the national average of 4.5%. While the sector has faced challenges such as rising energy costs, the impact of Brexit, and the lingering effects of a global pandemic, the sector continues to show resilience and plays a vital role in the town’s economic landscape.

Chesterfield’s manufacturing heritage dates back several decades, with the former Staveley Works, Dema Glass and Bryan Donkin factories previously dominating the town’s landscape. Now, thanks to collaborations leading to widespread regeneration across Chesterfield, the sector has welcomed many new businesses to our area, showcasing the pivotal role manufacturing and engineering still plays in the town’s economy.

Products now manufactured in Chesterfield include bespoke holiday lodges, industrial centrifuges and weighbridges, cast iron bars and sustainable packaging solutions just to name a few. But as the sector adapts to change, delegates at a recent Round Table discussion hosted by Destination Chesterfield in conjunction with the Derbyshire Times, discussed the current landscape.

Emily Williams, Skills Delivery Officer at Chesterfield Borough Council, acknowledged the evolving nature of manufacturing in Chesterfield: “We’ve seen a decline in the number of jobs in the sector over the last decade, but at the same time we’ve seen an increase in the number of businesses. The lower numbers of people in employment are thought to be as a result of automation and new technologies. We are still seeing strength in manufacturing locally, and it continues to be a really important sector for us.”

Chesterfield’s manufacturing industry has adapted to these changes by embracing new technologies and focusing on creating a positive working environment. Craig Morrison, Operations Director at Pinelog Ltd, a premium holiday lodge producer, emphasised the satisfaction derived from manufacturing: “It’s been massively rewarding but hugely challenging. I can’t imagine not producing. I just love being able to stand back and say ‘Yeah, I’ve created that.’”

While automation and technology play crucial roles, the human element remains indispensable. Alan Britland, Workshop and Service Manager at MSE Hiller shares his passion for the industry. “I’ve lived in some great places and met some brilliant people along the way. I’ve enjoyed every second of it, but it’s true that you never switch off from it. It has been really rewarding for me and I would tell anybody to go into engineering.”

David Beckford, Managing Director at Pronto Paints, highlights the practical benefits of careers in manufacturing. “One of the big draws is that you get a reliable income and reliable hours. It’s a well-paid, honest profession where you have satisfaction in what you’re doing. It’s a robust working environment but one where you’ll also make genuine friends.”

Business director in suit speaks with employee in overalls at manufacturing business

Diversity remains a focal point for the industry, with ongoing efforts to improve representation. Ian Bates, Policy and Representation Manager at East Midlands Chamber, underscored a critical issue: “A lot of women are interested in maths, science, and STEM, but it seems to be knocked out of them as they get to A-levels. We need to ensure that these students see practical roles in the sector as viable career options.”

Emily Williams adds: “Chesterfield Borough Council has previously worked with the Chesterfield Property and Construction group to deliver a ‘women in mentoring’ programme, and as part of that, we engaged with the Derbyshire BAME forum. Feedback indicated that marketing materials did not reflect diverse role models. There is opportunity to address these perceptions and make manufacturing more inclusive.”

The importance of visible role models is echoed by Craig Morrison. “If more women and girls are seeing female engineers, suddenly it becomes possible to them. 20 or 30 years ago, that wouldn’t have been advertised and it wouldn’t have been visible. As a sector, we’ve started sowing seeds on that front.”

David Beckford’s experience reflects a broader European challenge: “You see the senior leaders of manufacturing companies across Europe, and only a few are female. It’s a family-owned business culture, which has its own dynamics. We’re half-owned by a female founder. So, it’s always been in my DNA working in a female-led business.”

MTM Manufacturing

Amidst challenges, the successes of Chesterfield’s manufacturing sector deserve recognition. Matt Close, UK Business Lead at NeoDyne, highlights the importance of finding the right fit for his business when recruiting young talent: “The biggest thing I look for in someone is attitude. They need to have an inquisitive mind. There is no question that diversity will bring benefits to most organisations. It’s quite interesting being able to set up a new office. Because people don’t look around and think that they’re the only female. We took four women on when we opened here in Chesterfield. That’s not something that everyone can do when you’ve already got a workforce and it’s predominantly male.”

The discussion also emphasised the importance of celebrating achievements to raise the profile of the sector. Craig Morrison added: “Sometimes you need to show positives. If you’ve got a good news story, shout about it. Everyone is good at looking at where things went wrong, but what you need to be sharing more of is what went right. I suppose it’s human nature sometimes to focus on the negative. But if we are performing above average, then we should celebrate that.”

David Beckford concurs, underscoring the resilience of UK manufacturers. “I think we see too many negative headlines around our sector. ‘Jobs at risk’ is the headline you’ll see more often than ‘jobs created’. Everyone in the business today has got through all the challenges we’ve had thrown our way in recent years. Resilience has now become a default position, so the fact that you still exist should be celebrated for one thing.”

Chesterfield is the perfect place to work if you’re looking for a new challenge or want to progress in your current career. Find out more at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/about-chesterfield/working/

The organisations featured in this article support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

Manufacturing round table 2024

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Blog, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , ,

Pupils visit Superior Wellness as part of Made in Chesterfield tours

A group of eight students and two teachers from Springwell Community College visited the Chesterfield-based Superior Wellness headquarters as part of the Made in Chesterfield project.

Made in Chesterfield is a celebration of the manufacturing, engineering, science and technology industries and careers in the town. The campaign looks to inspire the next generation to the industry, with businesses, schools and training providers coming together to showcase the sector.

Made in Chesterfield is coordinated by Destination Chesterfield and Direct Education Business Partnership and delivered in association with the Chesterfield College Group and with support from Chesterfield Borough CouncilNorth Derbyshire Careers Hub, MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar Ltd, and Natwest.

As part of the project, Superior Wellness offered the students a tour of the office and warehouse space, with a brief introduction from each department. A representative from each department, including those studying for an apprenticeship, explained their role and the projects they work on.

While visiting Superior Wellness, the students were offered the opportunity to look at one of the many hot tubs Superior Wellness distribute globally and ask any questions regarding the products and the business.

Carol Claydon, Head of HR at Superior Wellness, said: “The tour organised by Made in Chesterfield was a fantastic opportunity for our business. Our team members thoroughly enjoyed explaining more about the business, their roles and their work experience to the students. It was brilliant to see how inspired the students were and I think it opened their eyes to the various career opportunities available within the local area.

“The campaign is a fantastic way to inspire the next generation and hopefully showcase the different sectors and opportunities available within the local town of Chesterfield.”

More than 170 pupils from seven different schools across the Chesterfield have been benefitting from tours at several businesses across the town, including Aztec Oils, Woodhead Construction, Vistry Partnerships, CBE+, Penny Hydraulics, Superior Wellness, Morgan Sindall, Weightron Bilanciai and MSE Hiller.

Superior Wellness supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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School workplace tours go virtual for Made in Chesterfield

Virtual tours of businesses operating in the town’s engineering and manufacturing sector, will ensure that young people in North Derbyshire continue to learn about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers during the pandemic.

Tours of three Chesterfield businesses – MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar (UCB) and Woodhead Construction – have been produced as part of the 2020 Made in Chesterfield campaign to ensure that young people do not miss out on a STEM workplace experience during the pandemic.

The films feature a tour of the UCB foundry, MSE Hiller’s workshop and laboratory and Chesterfield Borough Council’s new Enterprise Centre which is currently being built by Woodhead Construction.

The first film, featuring UCB, is now available for education providers to download for free and share with students at https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/made/tours-for-schools/united-cast-bar-virtual-tour/.

Sponsored by Chesterfield College, the annual campaign is coordinated by Destination Chesterfield in partnership with Derbyshire Education Business Partnership, supported by Chesterfield Borough Council and North Derbyshire Careers Hub.

The campaign was originally launched in 2015 in response to companies in the sector reporting long term recruitment difficulties. Over the last five years, Made in Chesterfield has helped introduce thousands of young people in North East Derbyshire to careers in the STEM sector.

Julie Richards, Principal and Chief Executive of the Chesterfield College Group explained:

“Initiatives like Made in Chesterfield are really important to inspire the next generation and illustrate the range of exciting careers available in science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing. It is crucial for employers and educational providers to work together to find new and innovative ways of showcasing the possibilities in these sectors, despite the current restrictions. Learning and development must continue so we can look to the future, which is why virtual tours and interactive sessions to engage young people are so vital.

“Chesterfield College is delighted to be a sponsor of this partnership and we are proud to playing a role in developing the skills of our local experts of the future.”

Pre-Covid-19, as part of the campaign a number of companies in the sector have led and hosted hands-on tours of their sites as well as going into schools to meet students and give talks.

Ivan Fomin, Managing Director of MSE Hiller and Destination Chesterfield’s board member responsible for manufacturing and engineering in the Borough, commented: “I am delighted that we are able to take STEM experiences into the classroom. Although we are in the middle of a pandemic it is important that we continue to ensure that young people have access to education, training, jobs and work placements in Chesterfield’s STEM sector. With HS2 on the horizon there is the opportunity for the region to become recognised as an international centre of rail research and innovation but only if we have the skilled workforce to meet investor demand.

“Although virtual this year, I am confident that these videos will be successful in bringing together education providers and businesses to ensure local young talent is aware of the myriad of STEM jobs and careers available here.”

Schools throughout North East Derbyshire are now being encouraged to share the films with students and give them a virtual taste of career opportunities in the STEM sector.

To view the virtual tours, please visit https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/made/tours-for-schools

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Chesterfield companies and local school children set to support Vulcan XH558’s Operation Safeguard

A new innovative four-way partnership led by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) is set to inspire the next generation of engineers in a project that supports the Trust’s latest fundraising drive – Operation Safeguard.

The project will see CBE+, a specialist precision engineering sub-contractor, join forces with The Work-wise Foundation to engage with local schools who will all work together on a number of projects to help the VTST charity.

The Work Wise Foundation is an employer-inspired and led initiative for engineering, manufacturing, technology, set up to support the development of children and young people so they have the knowledge, skills, aptitude and opportunities for employment.

Dr Robert Pleming, CEO of VTST said: “We are thrilled to be announcing this partnership with Chesterfield based CBE+ and The Work-wise Foundation to bring a unique opportunity to young people, schools and colleges in the region.

“Inspiring young people into careers in aerospace and engineering is one of the fundamental principles guiding our charity.”

CBE+ are currently housing an original Fuel Tank (as used in the conversion of Vulcan to a tanker) and two spare original Delta Wing Tips form the stock of parts used to maintain the iconic British engineered Vulcan XH558, delivered by the Trust for preparation, restoration and subsequent display in The Vulcan Experience.

Robert added: “This is partnership working at its best. CBE+ are providing the workshop space, engineering innovation/adaptation and apprentices to help renovate the components in a modern engineering environment.

“The Work-wise Foundation are delivering an education programme with links to the curriculum, employability skills and managing visits and experiences for students and schools to get involved.

“The exhibits resulting from this work will eventually take pride of place at The Vulcan Experience, displaying the names of people who support us by donating to Operation Safeguard – the campaign to build our new home.”

XH558 is based at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the VTST have planning permission to build a new permanent base for the aircraft. Operation Safeguard is their fundraising campaign to turn these ambitions into reality.

Marie Cooper, CEO of CBE+ said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with the Vulcan to the Sky Trust and The Work-wise Foundation on this project and cannot wait to get young people and apprentices involved in this innovative project.

“Taking delivery of the Fuel Tank and the Wing Tips was a very exciting moment for us and our engineers are keen to get to work on the restoration of these parts.

“Working with and inspiring young people into careers in STEM is so important for us. These are our future employees and we need to capture their attention when they are young so that they can see the potential of working in this sector.”

The Work-wise foundation will be working with schools to launch a competition that will see young people design the display stands to showcase the Fuel Tank and Wing Tips, the winning design will be translated into reality by CBE+.John Barber, CEO of The Work-wise Foundation said: “This is a really exciting partnership and we are proud to be working with both CBE+ and the Vulcan to the Sky Trust to bring this project to life.

“We will be working with primary and secondary schools to give students a first-hand experience of a real engineering renovation project in a modern industrial setting.

“Students will be able to learn about and see the work to restore and bring back to practical use the Fuel Tank and Wing Tips of the iconic Avro Vulcan Bomber XH558. Seeing and hearing from a team of Vulcan Engineers (Volunteers) and current apprentices.

“There will be a number of opportunities for students to learn practical skills and learn about all the jobs involved in working in aviation and engineering and the skills that are needed.”

The Work-wise Foundation supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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