A Lisburn firm has teamed up with its local FE college to help develop the company’s expertise.
AB Pneumatics will be working with the South Eastern Regional College to identify solutions to improve its manufacturing processes.
Students have already been involved in four such industry projects over the last six months where estimated savings to the firms could be as much as £15,000a year.
Industry projects at SERC involve students solving real-life business scenarios provided by local companies. They are designed to develop young people’s employability skills, including teamwork, problem solving, leadership, communication and commercial acumen, whilst providing them with valuable industry experience.
Engineering student Jordan Davis who worked on a project, said: “It was great to get the opportunity to work with one of the UK and Ireland’s leading manufacturing companies to get hands on experience. I got the opportunity to work on a live industry project from concept through to completion. The whole project was a fantastic experience and will look great on my CV.”
Said Steven Boal, AB Pneumatics design engineer: “AB Pneumatics are delighted to have an educational partnership with SERC.” The projects are set to deliver real results and are already contributing to our strategic goals. We recognise that these students are the industry’s future workforce and so we are committed to supporting their educational development.”
Kieran McKenna, head of engineering at SERC, said: “Industry projects at SERC are a great vehicle for us to support businesses with the challenges they face as well as developing our students employability skills. These examples give students, who are studying the equivalent to A-level, the opportunity to showcase what they are capable of.”
SERC currently have a wide range of industry projects underway and have helped get results for past clients including Bombardier, Coca Cola, Takker, Montupet, Diageo and Royal Mail.