We are very proud to welcome Plas-Tech, East Yorkshire based Thermoforming specialists, to The 5% Club. Some of Plas-Tech’s apprentices and graduates shared their experiences so far with us and gave insight into what careers with Plas-Tech and thermoforming entail.
After leaving Sixth Form College, 20 year old Casey Hare signed up with Humberside Engineering Training Association (HETA), an Engineering training provider offering apprenticeship training throughout the Yorkshire and Humber region. She is now employed by Plas-Tech Thermoforming Limited as a Mechanical Engineering Apprentice.
Having spent her first year off site at HETA honing her broad based engineering skills, she returned to Plas-Tech to spend several months in each production department, a short secondment in the tool room learning CNC machining, before joining the maintenance team for the remainder of her apprenticeship. Casey Commented:
“Every day is different here – I love the variety, and am never bored. I’ve always wanted to get into engineering, and this is a brilliant direct route in.”
Casey is joined on the apprenticeship programme by 18 year old Jack Mainprize from Hull, who attended Malet Lambert School in the city, completed his BTEC at HETA, and is also employed at Plas-Tech on a mechanical apprenticeship. Jack is enjoying his time at the company and is now specialising in the manufacture of CAM machined Thermoforming and Injection Moulding tools, jigs and fixtures. Jack commented
“I will be here for four years in total, and I am loving it. This is exactly what I’ve always wanted to do.”
More recently Plas-Tech recruited Graduate Engineer Rajan Lakshmipathi, fresh from completing his MSc in Engineering from Glasgow University to strengthen their injection moulding tool making capabilities. Having spent several years in the far east working as a tool maker, Rajan is employed as a Junior Tool room Manager, commenting
“Plas-Tech is a perfect place for me to hone my skills whilst developing my managerial abilities along with the company’s strategic growth.
Plas-Tech’s Technical Manager, Chris Hood, said:
“I am a great believer in bringing in the right people to develop the right skills and aptitudes to work for us here. At Plas-Tech, taking on apprentices and graduates is a vital part of our succession planning – if we know that, for example, we are going to have a long serving member of staff retire, we will always consider taking on and training an apprentice or graduate to fill the gap.”
“You need to invest the time and effort to transfer knowledge, and you must have a structured approach to their training programme – it’s vital that they don’t take on too much too soon. Young people transferring from the school environment to the workplace learn by making mistakes, and you need to be patient with them. You really do get out of the apprenticeship scheme what you put in.”
To learn more about Plas-Tech and the opportunities the company provides, please visit their website.
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