Multi-Ply are pleased to announce that we have signed the Composites UK Skills Pledge (Composites UK Skills Pledge | Composites UK).
For over a decade the UK composites sector has faced skills shortages of qualified and experienced personnel, and we are delighted to be taking an active role in addressing these critical issues.
In June 2024 Multi-Ply opened the facility doors to all employees, their friends and family to raise awareness of the composites industry and what opportunities are available.
A prosperous partnership with Blackpool and Fylde college has seen Multi-Ply’s apprenticeship employment increase by an incredible 50% in just twelve months. Our three apprentices Lucie, Engineering, Tom, Maintenance and Dominik, CNC machining are utilizing both hands on experience and in-house training sessions to achieve their programmes.
To support our apprentice’s learning and development Ian, our NPI & Engineering Manager and Chris, our CNC Programmer lead attended Blackpool and Fylde college last month to visit the colleges engineering department. This essential tour gives trainers a sense of our apprentices typical learning environment and the machinery used throughout initial introductory training.
In accordance with our skills pledge, on 6th February 2025 amidst the widely celebrated Apprenticeship Week, our recruitment team will be exhibiting at Blackpool & the Fylde college to discuss a range of opportunities available and to answer any queries attendees may have. All future plans for our attendance at career events will be shared through our social media channels.
Upskilling our CNC programmers in external training provided by Composites UK member Tebis UK (https://www.tebis.com/en) is just one of the first steps we have taken to ensure our team are proficient in critical fields within our production process. Our area Team Leaders are continuing to grow in confidence and expertise through regularly attending management training with the Manufacturing Alliance (Manufacturers’ Alliance | Inspiring Manufacturing Leaders); a company dedicated to helping manufacturing organisations with business growth and leadership excellence.
Additionally, our ethos of cross skilling staff members leads to a workforce with a broad range of skills across multiple composite disciplines, such as laminating, trimming, finishing and assembly and allows the business to avoid single points of failure and be more agile in our ability to react to changes in demand/product mix.
Our Pledge
On behalf of Multi-Ply Components, we pledge our support for the workforce development initiative set out in the Composites UK position paper on the skills crisis in the UK composites sector.
We commit to working to help our industry to address these issues. We shall do this by taking the following action:
Schools
We will engage with a minimum of 2 local schools each year through careers events and/or individual visits by members of our staff to talk with students about the opportunities in the UK composites industry.
Colleges
When appropriate for our business, we will work with other organisations in our region through Composites UK and its members to help develop a collaborative cohort of students for apprenticeship and/or T-level courses.
Upskilling
We will work with Composites UK to understand our future business skills requirement and identify any training needs as a result.
Good practice
We will provide Composites UK with details of case studies of success for inclusion in good practice examples.
Commitment to the Future
By signing the Composites UK Skills Pledge, Multi-Ply is committed to taking an active role in our team development and skills retention. We look forward to contributing to the future of the UK composites industry through education and the upskilling initiatives listed in our pledge.