Reliance Precision Limited is a specialist engineering company that has over 60 years’ experience in providing custom-built, highly reliable, precision instrumentation for a diverse range of global markets, including analytical science, medical, industrial and space.

Robert Farrell, Training School Team Leader, shared his experience of recruiting and managing apprentices within the business.

“We’ve been hiring apprentices for 60 years, so we’re accustomed to engaging with the higher education apprenticeship programme. We are a family-owned business and we are passionate about instilling our family values and promoting employee welfare to our apprentices.”

We have sometimes found it challenging to recruit specialist engineers in the local area but by working with Kirklees College, we are able to recruit apprentices who we train and develop into the skilled workforce that we require.

We got involved in recruiting apprentices through promoting the scheme at careers events at local schools. We have found that this has been the best way of allowing us to see who would be a good fit for the role and has the right attributes from an initial discussion. The process has certainly been made easier with the support of the team at Kirklees College. We work closely with Steve Gannon, Head of Engineering and Science Apprenticeships, who has helped us to navigate the changes made to the national apprenticeship standard and meets with us regularly to clarify situations and resolve any problems. We also work with the Employer Engagement Team who have helped us to deliver specialist units that we are unable to deliver on-site, such as the Abrasive Wheels course.

From our perspective, we have found that the industry is constantly evolving. We ensure that our apprentices keep up-to-date with the latest developments but we also find that they bring new and fresh ideas to the company. We enjoy working with a local training provider as it is important to champion home-grown talent. By collaborating with the college team, we have managed to streamline our processes to reach our business targets, such as moving towards a paperless system and facilitating online learning.

One key piece of advice I would have for an employer about working with a training provider is to nurture a positive working relationship. This opportunity has allowed us to engage with local people and showcase the fantastic Kirklees College Engineering Centre that is on our doorstep. We have also shared expertise to improve our service, such as updates to legislation, and continued to support our apprentices’ progression.

I would definitely recommend Kirklees College as a higher education training provider. We have reaped the benefits of hiring apprentices as they have learnt the specialist skills needed to produce high-quality and accurate work. The programme has allowed us to sustain our business and plan for future growth, both of which have only been possible through the apprenticeship scheme.