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David Wilson
Wilson’s world
David Wilson is editor of Engineeringtalk and Electronicstalk and associate editor of The Engineer
It takes two
Business was booming at the small to medium-sized engineering firm. In fact, orders for new products were coming in so thick and fast that the engineering team was having trouble keeping up with them. So the engineering manager approached his managing director to see if he could hire a couple of new recruits to help out.
Realising that he desperately needed some assistance, the managing director swiftly gave the thumbs-up to the head of engineering, who immediately telephoned the local recruitment agency to help him find two suitable candidates. But being a wise old chap who had hired many personnel over his long career, he did not look to fill the positions at the firm simply by roping in two new graduates with degrees in mechanical engineering.
While he did indeed hire one mechanical engineering graduate to help out with the immediate needs in the design office, he also employed another less academically qualified, yet no less enthusiastic, individual as an apprentice that he put to work on the factory floor.
Now I must say that some members of the design team did think that the engineering manager had made a rather peculiar decision. They were under the impression that both the new hires would be put to work in the design office where they would instantly be able to help with the backlog of design orders. They didn’t for one minute think that their boss would hire a trainee without a decent four-year degree.
But the old engineering manager was undeterred by the opinions of his colleagues. And while the young mechanical engineering graduate quickly set to work contributing to the efforts of the design team, the less academically qualified individual spent his first 12 months at the company learning the exquisite details of each and every manufacturing process.
Nevertheless, both during and after the 12-month period, the engineering manager ensured that both the graduate and the apprentice spent a lot of time together. In those meetings, the graduate bounced his new design ideas off the apprentice who in turn suggested the optimum way that they might be realised on the manufacturing line.
It was a marriage made in engineering heaven — both individuals’ talents complemented one another, ensuring that the design ideas were appropriately revised to take advantage of the appropriate manufacturing processes.
To ensure that the apprentice would not become bored with his role at the company, the engineering manager also dispatched him off on several engineering design courses for one day a week. And, after a number of years, he too gained a degree in mechanical engineering, after which point, the wily engineering manager transferred him into the design office.
Now, the business is even more successful and the engineering manager is once again looking to hire two new members of staff. Needless to say, I think we can be sure that he’ll be following the same strategy that worked so well for him before.
David Wilson
The Wilson’s world blog also forms part of the Engineeringtalk, Electronicstalk and Manufacturingtalk newsletters. To subscribe, go here for Engineeringtalk, here for Electronicstalk and here for Manufacturingtalk
Readers' comments (4)
Dwight Diederich | 14 Apr 2011 12:08 pm
This story is exactly what I have been advocating for years. I don't think a candidate for most engineering degrees ought to allowed to begin his/her course work until they have had actual "on the floor" experience. As a long time Industrial Maintenance Tech I often wondered if the engineers that designed the equipment had any idea how to design equipment that I could work on! Now as an Instructor for a Technical School this has become a topic that I speak to during any class that I have.
Thank you for a great illustration on how new engineers should be trained!
Dwight
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Don Ream | 14 Apr 2011 11:08 pm
One of my engineering professors spoke of being a NCG in engineering and working at his new company.
One day he designed a widget needed and sent it off to the fab shop to have it made. After some number of weeks, the part did not come back so he ventured to the fab office manager to see the problem.
The fab office manager pulled out the engineer's carefully drawn (by hand then) designs from his lower drawer. The engineer could see that the drawings had obviously been wadded into a ball for the trash bin. They discussed the drawings and the real world of fabrication for a while. The fab manager suggested the new engineer spend some time in the shop to learn real design.
My professor spoke to his manager as well on this and spent many hours over many weeks learning the tools of the shop. He always said to us that the best instruction on design he ever got was this time in his early career.
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Peter Bready | 15 Apr 2011 3:51 am
Dear Dave,
Two votes for the wise engineering manager. Middle of last century (!) I worked in a highly-reputed government research organisation. The best years of my life. We had two streams of intake, shiny new graduates who were excited about how well they would set the world on fire; and trainees who were also part time students in tertiary technical colleges. That experience taught me that too many of the hotshot graduates knew just enough to burn the ship to the waterline, while the trainees grew into being five times more competent and balanced. But the social stratifications still pandered to the graduates - carpeted lunch room, and so on.
Cheers,
Peter
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Anonymous | 20 Apr 2011 8:55 pm
When I applied for a career in engineering, it was made clear (by all locally available advice) that the only path was via an apprenticeship, and one could continue even to degree level by that route, and that continuing into 6th form and “A” levels would take me outside the age limit. I also knew a few people given that advice who had already passed the cut –off age.
I was told that this was engineering industry policy in order that one would “have a good grounding” in production processes.
In recent years, it would appear that the attitude has changed, we now have direct entry graduates who seem to bring with them a greater specialisation, and sometimes one that appears to avoid actually making anything, unless it is by the latest fashionable technique.
Workshops have been replaced by meeting rooms and lecture theatres.
From history, maybe James Nasmyth (he of the steam hammer) was right – his problem was the 19th century apprentices who believed themselves to be a “cut above the rest” and wore kid gloves to prevent them getting their hands dirty.
The story shows how it could work, but I'm afraid that what can happen is that the firm's business becomes tailored to suit the (direct entry) graduates.
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