Bursary Case Study

Student: Liam

Studies: City and Guilds Fabrication and Welding at Darlington College

Host Company: Finley Structures

The Student

Liam’s tutor at Darlington College says “Liam is always enthusiastic and has such a positive view of engineering. Coupled with his enthusiasm, this made him an excellent candidate for the Bursary Scheme”.

The Host Company

Finley Structures is a family owned company based in County Durham, providing structural steelwork to the construction industry. Finley employees need to be both well trained and flexible so that current and future customer demands can be fully satisfied. They were looking for a student with a strong work ethic, a willingness to learn and the ability to fit in with the workshop team.

Approach

Liam was faced with joining the manufacturing team for his four-week placement and responding to the challenges of a busy work environment. Manufacturing capacity allows the company to handle orders from 5 to 2500 tonnes covering a wide range of structural solutions for customers throughout the UK.

Initially, Liam worked within the Plating Section, learning how to read drawings, mark out the steel and how to use a static welder. This enabled him to become a valuable member of the team and contribute to fulfilling customer orders. As the placement progressed, Liam continued to work within manufacturing but extended his experience into other areas including the operation of machines for punching and cutting as well as the importance of working to tolerances and specifications.

Outcome

By the end of his four weeks, Liam had successfully worked across a spectrum of engineering operations and shown himself to be reliable, able to work within a team and willing to undertake new challenges.

The company were so impressed by Liam's commitment and ability to learn new things that they offered him an apprenticeship which he accepted and started the week after completing his Bursary placement. Liam is now back at Darlington College on day release and enjoying being a member of the manufacturing team at Finley Structures.

Finley Structures’ Human Resources and Facilities Manager, said “The benefit of us taking on Liam is that we can mould him into our ways of working and hopefully progress his career within the organization”.