The MKW Group's innovative approach to engineering extends to the way it trains and develops its people, with the most innovative feature being the Group's possibly unique International Journeyman apprentice training programme. Under International Journeyman, locally recruited trainees serve two years of their apprenticeship in France, where they acquire a language skill, as well as a very solid engineering grounding.
The scheme is a reflection of the MKW Group's commitment to assuring the future of quality engineering in the North East of England. It works in partnership with the Regional Technology Centre, Sunderland (RTC North) and Les Compagnons du Devoir, in France, to ensure young apprentices from the region can enjoy a first class training at MKW and in France - and go out into the world of engineering with a language as well as an engineering skill.
So positive has been The MKW Group's experience with its French training "journey" that it is now driving efforts to try and emulate aspects of the French model in the North East. MKW has been in talks with parties including ONE NorthEast, Tyneside Learning & Skills Council and Gateshead Council, with the aim of taking the initiative forward together. The MKW Group sees the French method as placing a much-needed greater emphasis on acquiring practical skills in the workplace.
Michael K Wright, Chief Executive, is also a Director of Training & Development Resources Ltd (TDR), the Tyneside-based Learning and Skills Council-funded apprentice training company.
The Group has been instrumental in the introduction of pioneering ventures in apprentice training, including Student Apprenticeships and Tomorrow's Engineers. With International Journeyman, these schemes offer students a much wider range of options than formerly and give companies more cost-effective training solutions.
The MKW Group's purpose-built Training Centre provides the location for a variety of training courses and initiatives. As the following list demonstrates, these include a number of partnership and community involvements, all geared to help ensure that the North East can provide the engineering skills it needs to ensure the ongoing prosperity of the sector and its contribution to the wider economy.
This is the first time this programme has been run externally by EADS Astrium, one of MKW's key trading partners.
