Three apprentices from leading canmaking machinery company, CMB Engineering, Shipley, West Yorkshire, U.K.,won first place for the second time at the National WorldSkills competition in Birmingham, U.K. in November.
Dominic Trees, Patrick Devanney and Chris Renwick were the three apprentices who put their knowledge and experience to the test to compete at this year’s Manufacturing Team Challenge against other industry apprentices.
Following last year’s success at The WorldSkills International tournament, where another group of CMB apprentices engineered their way to success, competing in the finals as the only team from the canmaking industry, this year’s contestants had to design, manufacture, assemble and test a complex piece of machinery to demonstrate their engineering expertise. The group’s winning design was an advanced, remote-controlled forklift engineered to lift up to 50kg of weight which adhered to the design specifications of being lightweight and sustainable as well as time- and cost-effective.
Now qualified for the UK squad, the team will compete again in May 2015 faced with even more complex challenges for a chance to compete in the WorldSkills finals which will be hosted in Brazil mid-2015.
Dominic Trees, who also won a gold medal at last year’s Skills Show competition, Patrick Devanney and Chris Renwick are all currently doing an engineering apprenticeship program at CMB Engineering, where their roles consist of varied and well-rounded tasks including the construction of canmaking machines, such as CMB’s Neckers and Bodymakers. Like other CMB Engineering apprentices, the aspiring engineers hope to progress to full-time roles within the company whilest also completing their studies, working toward an engineering degree.
“We are very proud to witness yet another astonishing win from our apprentices at The WorldSkills Competition. Our participation in this yearly event forms part of our apprenticeship program, and we deem it vital to enrich the learning experience of our apprentices. We have always been dedicated to providing the best training possible to our aspiring engineers, ultimately aiming to help them achieve a successful career in the canmaking industry”, noted Andrew Truelove, general manager at CMB Engineering “For us, it is very important to retain talented individuals who want to progress and will be dedicated to the future progression and success of the company, providing our customers with the best service and support possible”.
