For over 70 years Middlesex Aerospace has been actively nurturing talented school leavers and developing them into leading engineers. It’s a track record we are very product of, with many of our longest serving employees starting out as apprentices.

Maintaining an active apprentice scheme means we have to be continually on the lookout for a new intake. To do this, we go out and talk about the world of precision engineering to budding engineers at schools and colleges across the local area.

In February, Middlesex Aerospace could be found at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) at their first careers fair of the year.  This was followed up by a talk at the College in March to a group of students. This gave them the chance to hear about how they can start their careers with us.

First steps into the world of work

May will be a busy time for our search for future engineering talent. The start of the month will see 15 students from Bishop Challenor Secondary School visit our facilities. They will be taken round for a guided tour and informal chat. They can also ask any questions they may have about why they should choose an apprenticeship. Giving them a clearer picture of the advantages compared to going into higher education for an academic degree.

At the same time, we will start a short programme of work experience. 2 students from The Costello School will be here at the start of May to get a taste of work in our facilities. While in July students from The Hurst School in Tadley and Robert May’s School in Odiham will be spending time with us.

Committed to finding talented engineers of the future

For thousands of students every year, apprentice schemes present a far more attractive career path that is better suited to their abilities.  The opportunity to gain highly valued skills – and earn at the same time – is a compelling reason to become an apprentice with Middlesex Aerospace. And with demand for our work in the aerospace engineering sector continually growing, we believe it is a career path with a real long term future ahead.

 

 

As a long-standing partner of Basingstoke College of Technology, we attended their recent Apprentice Recruitment Fair. It was as ever a superb event and there was a lot of interest from students looking for work placements and apprenticeships with Middlesex.

Later, we visited a local school to talk about Middlesex Aerospace and our apprenticeship scheme. We wanted to give students a clear picture of what they could expect – and what was expected of them – from an apprenticeship.

During the presentations the student asked some excellent questions about apprenticeships. We thought they were worth setting down below for other students to read and consider.

What is the advantage of an Apprenticeship over going to University?

The key advantage is you learn practical skills through an apprenticeship with a more hands on approach and you spend time learning all parts of the business. University is more theory. You get paid a wage with other benefits such as annual leave. And, unlike University, your courses are free plus Middlesex Aerospace will support you through further education to obtain your degree.

How do I apply for an apprenticeship with Middlesex?

Our advice is to get a placement at BCoT first. Then you can apply to do a work placement with us. This gives you a good idea of the company, and it gives us a chance to see you in person. If you do well, it could lead to an apprenticeship offer.

What grades do I need to get the chance of an apprenticeship with Middlesex?

Grades are not the important thing here. In fact, we don’t tend to consider them. What we are concerned with is how you perform through work placement, your attendance, punctuality, how you listen and communicate, and of course your enthusiasm.

Is becoming a Middlesex apprentice just about manufacturing components?

While this is the core of our business, there is so much more to learn. Within an apprenticeship scheme you get to learn all parts of the business which will include manufacturing components, NDT quality control, NPI, sales, purchasing and IT.

How long is an apprenticeship with Middlesex?

The typical scheme length is 3.5 years. However, this can last longer if you take more courses.

Will I get an opportunity to see where the components Middlesex make go on the aircraft?

Absolutely. We arrange customer site visits where you will see where our parts go on the aircraft. We also give you opportunities to attend other events, such as apprentice fairs and engineering exhibitions.

Each year, thousands of young people look at what their next steps may be after leaving school. For those with an interest in engineering, they may believe the only path available is to go to a University or Further Education college for another round of full-time study. But for many students there is another option – become an apprentice.

Middlesex Aerospace has operated apprentice schemes for over 70 years. During this time we have helped many young people turn their talent into a rewarding career in engineering. Recently we began a close partnership with Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) to help students take their first steps in the aerospace industry.

Helping Students Get into Aerospace Engineering

Middlesex Aerospace operates a sponsorship scheme for entry level students who wish to pursue a career in engineering. The programme is a departure from the traditional post-graduate selection process favoured by other companies.

Our scheme is open to students on a full time engineering course at BCoT and have successfully completed their first year. For the students who complete this stage, we then consider their suitability for a place within our apprenticeship scheme.

Earn While You Learn

As part of the apprenticeship scheme we sponsor students to continue at BCoT for a further 3 years to graduate. At the same time, apprentices also work with highly experienced engineers. This helps them to develop invaluable skills and experience in an aerospace engineering environment.

It means every apprentice can achieve a recognised qualification and show they already bring some experience to their role. Putting them ahead of their fellow students.

Becoming a Middlesex Aerospace Apprentice

Applicants to the Middlesex Apprentice Scheme are preferred to have successfully completed their first year on a full time engineering course at BCoT. Chosen candidates are asked to join the company for one week. This time gives them valuable insight into the apprenticeship scheme and show their suitability for a place.

From this stage, candidates are taken through a formal interview, and those selected are offered a three year apprenticeship within the company. During this time the apprentice would attend BCoT on a day release basis to study for further qualifications.

If you are not an engineer but wish to pursue a career in business, we also consider applications for other areas within our business. These can be within our office functions, such as finance, purchasing, or IT. The entry requirements for these departments will vary and would be provided on application. For further details contact us – or see below.

See us at the BCoT Apprenticsehip Fair

During Monday 5^th February we will be at Basingstoke College of Technology to meet with apprentice candidates. The BCoT Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair is your chance to find out more about how apprenticeships work. We’ll be delighted to explain more about our Apprentice Scheme to you in person and take a look at your cv too. If you have a passion for engineering and want to become part of our team, come and see us at the BCoT Apprentice Fair.

 

It is now just hours to go before we can say goodbye to 2023. But unlike this time last year, we’ll be saying it with some degree of sadness. The last 12 months are ones we will happily remember. With aircraft production increasing and new enquiries from major manufacturers, it seemed the hard work put in to invest in our facilities and processes was worth it.

So what can we expect to see during 2024? It’s fair to say that as aircraft manufacturers ramp up production to meet the pent-up demand for more planes, we believe this will result in an increase in both current and new orders to help meet their targets. Also, the amount of interest we found in our work while at major events during the year proved that there is still huge demand for UK precision engineering and the unique skills and experience we bring to Tier-One supply chains.

We are thankful that the hard work we put in during the last years is proving so attractive to customers new and old. And we look forward to a 12 months where we will continue to strive to meet ever higher standards and help our partners achieve their targets.

But for now, we wish both you and all our partners a Happy New Year. Here’s to a wonderful 2024 for you all.

 

2023 has been a very positive year for Middlesex Aerospace. Not only have we seen orders move back towards pre-COVID levels, but the backlog in plane deliveries has seen a ramp up in some production areas.

The ongoing investment in new machinery, combined with the hard work put in by everyone here to be ready for the markets to recover is paying off. Not only have we won new high-value business but we have been attracting attention from major figures across the aerospace sector. Throughout 2023 we have seen new orders come in. So we are highly pleased that the future orderbook and forecast look very promising indeed.

Industry Overview

The rebounding aerospace market has seen positive developments for our work. With customers increasing production rates we will be increasingly busy to hep manufacturing partners meet their targets.

Accreditation renewals

Our industry depends on working hard to continuously reach every higher standards. To help us maintain our position as a leading precision engineering partner we have renewed BSI & Cyber Essential Plus Approvals. These allow us to be compliant with a number of key defence and aerospace contracts.

NADCAP Audit

Following an intensive inspection process, Performance Review Institute informed us that Middlesex Aerospace has achieved Nadcap® accreditation for Non-Destructive Testing. Furthermore, our recent audit has earned the company an additional 2 credits, meaning the certification remains in place until 2025.

To reach this standard is highly challenging; indeed, many members of the aerospace supply chain do not reach this level.

Events

One of the highlights of a very busy events calendar was the Paris Air Show. This globally renowned show returned for its 54^th outing on the 19th June for 7 days’ at the Le Bourget Parc des Expositions in France.

As the largest air show and exhibition in the world, the biennial Paris Air Show attracted nearly 140,000 visitors to see 2,453 exhibitors from 49 countries. Not forgetting of course the sight of 140 aircraft on display.

We met with many of our close supply chain partners to discuss projects with industry attendees and exhibitors

DSEI

We joined security supply chain partners at DSEI 2023 at EXCEL from 12^th – 15^th September for the biggest edition of the show to date – and the most successful event we have attended in 20 years.

DSEI welcomed over 1,000 specialist suppliers this year in an exhibition that showcased some of the latest thinking in defence and security.

While at DSEI Middlesex Aerospace met several key partners and discussed the challenges they face with securing precision engineering services. This was a great opportunity for us to showcase the class-leading work we deliver that helps manufacturers achieve the highest quality standards.

MAKE UK Defence Conference

Birmingham was the venue for the latest Make UK Defence Conference. We met with key contacts from over 12 Tier-1 companies as well as hearing from another 8 organisations within the defence sector.

Bringing new talent to precision engineering

2023 has seen us continue the longstanding partnership with Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT). Through course sponsorship, providing work experience and apprentice placements we are committed to working with BCoT to develop talent within young people.

Middlesex Aerospace and the local community

As part of our commitment to local grassroots sports, Middlesex Aerospace is proud to be the sponsors of the Winklebury Wizards U-10 side. This year we were delighted to see the team win their league, which is a great result for them. Winklebury Wizards is run by a dedicated team of volunteers who help children stay fit and healthy, and develop vital social skills and friendships.

Attracting and nurturing talented young people into leading precision engineers of tomorrow is essential to the future success of our business. Middlesex Aerospace has operated an apprenticeship scheme since 1950. Over a third of our staff, including members of the senior team, started out as apprentices.  Over the decades we have committed to investing in future talent and develop strong relations with the education sector. This allows us to provide an outstanding apprenticeship scheme in both the technical certificate and NVQ programme.

 

The latest apprentices to join our scheme are Jason Buckle, who is 18 years old from Basingstoke, and Scott Wilson, 19 years old from Medstead. Jason and Scott have now settled in as first year students at Basingstoke College of Technology, studying Level 3 Engineering Technician.

 

As apprentices Jason and Scott attend BCoT on a day release basis over the next three years. This gives them a combination of class-based study with practical experience within our facilities. For their first year at Middlesex Aerospace both Jason and Scott have been placed in the Toolroom. They are receiving mentoring from Dave Andrews, who possesses over 50 years experience. This is providing invaluable experience and advice to augment their college course.

 

It is great to have them both on the team at Middlesex Aerospace, and we wish Jason and Scott every success in their chosen career with us.

At Middlesex Aerospace we have long appreciated the value of data produced from manufacturing processes in our business. Providing precision engineering services to the aerospace industry means we generate large volumes of data. And this information comes from a rich variety of sources throughout our manufacturing processes and as part of the supply chain.

The challenge was to harness the data we produce and use it to support how we have embraced Kaizen. The basis of Kaizen is to continuously improve, and we empower everyone within the business to contribute. Changes can at times be almost imperceptible, but this gradual approach allows us to stay in the vanguard of delivering the highest quality standards in our work.

Data can provide insights to improve how we work. So it is important that everyone should see relevant data to help them be part of our Kaizen process. to do this, we need to present information to people and teams who could use it to improve our processes. Plus, we needed to do this fast. It’s vital we help employees to quickly identify areas that can be improved. And see the impact of decisions as they happen rather than some time in the future.

Utilising Business Intelligence

To achieve this, we invested in the adoption of a Business Intelligence platform called PowerBI. Part of the Microsoft portfolio, PowerBI is able to process data from our manufacturing processes into meaningful insight. So we can understand how our business is performing.

PowerBI also presents information in visual formats that a user can quickly understand, and act where required. And finally, PowerBI does this fast, so we are able to present information in real time. Alternatively, we can import data into other apps such as Word or PowerPoint for review.

To enable PowerBI, we connected the application to our Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) system. The feed of raw data is then analysed and presented as key metrics to staff. This is provided via displays installed throughout our facilities. Importantly, this is done in real time, so opportunities to improve can be spotted immediately. We can then see the impact of any changes as they take place.

The Power of Data in Practice

So how does work in practice? As an example, via our MRP and PowerBI platforms we can pull live data from our New Work To List system. Teams can then see relevant job information, including its location within our facilities, in real time. The data can also be displayed by its priority number. This allows us to arrange work for best response or quality results. So we can maintain critical quality standards for our aerospace clients. It also ensures Defence Safety Authority (DSA) reports – which are also included in the live data stream – reflect on work delivered to customers each day, on time and in full.

This move to real time view of work in our facilities as it happens means our staff see first-hand the benefits of reaching quality standards. They can also see improvements from changes they instigate. This makes it a great motivator for both individuals and teams to be directly involved in our relentless drive to maintain the very highest standards.

So, our work to use data through our manufacturing processes allows us to make informed and accurate decisions by using the platforms that runs Middlesex Aerospace. Helping us to continuously improve quality, deliver a better service to customers, and understand how we work faster and easier – automatically.

 

If any organisation wants to develop and evolve, it must be open to new ideas and ways to run its business. This is especially true for us here at Middlesex Aerospace.  As a manufacturer we work within industries which demand the highest standards. Where we can find new ways to raise quality or improve our position in supply chains, our customers will of course benefit. And how we strive to improve our business is to look for inspiration from others, learn from them and adopt ideas which we can be confident will work.

It is for those reasons we decided some time ago to introduce Kaizen into Middlesex Aerospace. You might well have already heard of Kaizen, but in case you need some details here’s a quick background for you.

‘Kai’ and ‘Zen’, Japanese for ‘Change For The Better’ is an approach to business improvement. The methodology can trace its roots back to the USA during World War 2, when the Training With Industry programme was developed to help reduce the impact of skilled personnel being called up to fight.

Within the TWI programme was a new approach to reaching objectives. Rather than make major, wholesale changes to processes, small incremental steps were encouraged, often being implemented as they were suggested. At the end of the war, this approach was brought to Europe and Asia to help with rebuilding the homes and businesses left shattered by conflict.

In Japan, the Americans brought in the programme to help develop local business management skills. Within this was an introduction titled ‘Improvement In Four Steps’ – ‘Kaizen eno Yon Danka’.

The 5 Principles Of Kaizen

Kaizen consists of 5 principles:

Know your Customer

If you understand what your customer wants, you can then identify how to add value to their experience

Let it Flow

Find where waste occurs in your work – and come up with new ways to eliminate it

Go to Gemba

Gemba is translated as ‘the real place’. So this principle is about following the process and spot where value is being created. That’s ‘the real place’, or Gemba

Empower People

To make Kaizen work, you give your staff goals and the means to achieve them

Be Transparent

By showing how the business is performing, people can see the effects of changes as they occur. And it’s showing the success of those changes that encourages people to be involved in Kaizen.

 

Kaizen Can be Everywhere

An important point if, like us, you’re always strive to improve across all aspects of our business. Kaizen is not restricted to production. You apply it throughout your organisation. When applied within a supply chain, the incremental improvements can result in major jumps forward in efficiency and quality. It has helped us to become valued partners to many of our customers, through applying Kaizen to our work in their supply chains and helping to develop their product.

From our perspective, the beauty of Kaizen is how it involves everyone. All staff within Middlesex Aerospace play a vital role and all can have an input into improving our business. Changes can be almost imperceptible, but they deliver more efficient, effective work – resulting in ever higher quality. And that commitment to relentless improvement matches how we always strive to improve. Plus of course, it places us as a preferred partner for more and more of the premium names in aerospace and other sectors demanding precision engineering services.

At Middlesex Aerospace we are committed to provide the highest levels of quality and security to our partners. As part of our continual accreditation process we have been informed our Cyber Essentials Plus certification has once again been renewed.

The Cyber Essentials standard was the brainchild of the National Cyber Security Centre. Supported by the UK Government, the accreditation was developed by the technology industry. The aim of Cyber Essentials is to help companies improve their digital defences and defend themselves from potentially disastrous cyber attacks. The standard is effectively a baseline of controls for a business and their internal and perimeter defences. Holding a current Cyber Essentials Plus certification vital to our work. This certification is a mandatory requirement when looking to become a partner with the Ministry of Defence.

By continuing being Cyber Essentials Plus certified we can demonstrate we have met a set level of security within our infrastructure. This is vital within the defence sector as we manage sensitive and, in some cases, highly confidential data. For many partners in the aerospace supply chain security is vital. They need to have confidence in providing us with information that must remain private. Cyber Essentials helps us to provide that level of reassurance to them.

The Cyber Essentials certification is not just a requirement of the Ministry of Defence either. Many major organisations request this certification is secured. Renewing our certification means Middlesex Aerospace is able to become involved in their supply chains as well.

Ultimately, Cyber Essentials is a practical, effective route to ensuring your company is able to combat common cyber security breaches. For us here at Middlesex Aerospace we believe it gives you, as a supplier or customer partner in the aerospace sector, the confidence to work closely with us knowing we operate a resilient infrastructure and can be trusted to handle your commercially sensitive data safely.

EM3, the region’s leading business-led strategic economic partnership organisation, discussed the barriers to apprenticeships at their first Careers Hub Steering Group meeting recently.

The event, which included delegates from a range of businesses and organisations across Hampshire, featured a workshop look at how employers could work to provide more opportunities to young people, improving access to training and promoting non-University centric career paths.

During the meeting, delegates heard from Alan Hay, who is an apprentice at Middlesex Aerospace. Alan joined the aviation and aerospace component manufacturer five years ago, after learning about the company at an apprenticeship fair held at Basingstoke College of Technology.

Alan, who is a New Product Introduction and special projects engineer, spoke of his positive experience as an apprentice, where he could earn while he learned in a very supportive environment. But he said: “It was completely potluck that I found out about Middlesex Aerospace.”

In fact, it was all down to his mother encouraging Alan to attend the apprenticeship fair. “The awareness of apprenticeships at school wasn’t very good,” explained Alan. “My teachers had told me I should go to college and study engineering, but they didn’t actually tell me about apprenticeships. It was seeing Middlesex Aerospace at the fair that made me think engineering was something I was interested in as a career.”

It was while studying at BCoT that Alan became much more aware of apprenticeships, in part thanks to going on work experience and meeting different businesses at apprenticeship evenings.

Alan’s manager Michael Clarkson was full of praise for Alan and keen to promote apprenticeships as an excellent way of bringing both new talent to a business and upskilling young people.

While some businesses view apprenticeships as an added cost, Michael said Alan was a great example of how apprentices can instead save money through giving them a chance to use their skills and abilities.

In Alan’s case, Middlesex Aerospace tasked him to research and source equipment to replace a manual process of measuring the quality of components. “As parts are being machined, they are now being checked at the same time. This improves production flow without compromising quality. As a result, our ability to meet even shorter deadlines increases capacity for more customers,” said Michael.

“Alan’s very clever and is a real asset. Now he’s head of two machines worth £500,000 which is great. He’s shown his capabilities and he’s got the knowledge. He’s very interested in engineering and has the ability to focus on getting the job done within time scales.”

Suzanne Dixon, said: “The event gave businesses, training providers and the Enterprise M3 Careers Hub team the opportunity to discuss barriers to apprenticeship and technical education take up.”

“Findings from the session will be shared with the Careers and Enterprise Company and the Department of Education.”

Ou thanks to Suzanne for facilitating this invaluable meeting and we look forward to working with EM3 to advance the positive benefits of apprenticeships in the future.