News & events
Meeting the future manufacturers
16.02.2010
When a college sent out an SOS for help teaching students a new work-related Diploma, a Bradford employer came to the rescue and forged a friendship that bridged the generation gap.
As a result of a teacher’s email to businesses, students at Dixons City Academy studying the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design (MPD) have been given the opportunity to work hand in hand with print and packaging machinery specialist, Advanced Dynamics.
Malcolm Little, joint managing director of the Thornton Road company, answered a plea by the Academy’s head of business education, David Connelly, to help give 10 students from Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College and Grange Technology College an insight into what manufacturing is all about.
The Diploma in MPD, which launched in Bradford last September, offers an innovative mix of classroom-based and practical learning to students interested in learning about manufacturing. Employers play a big role in the curriculum through site visits, talks, work placements and mentoring students through projects. All of which is intended to give young people a realistic insight into the sector, and to help them build skills and knowledge valued by employers.
David said: “When Malcolm first approached me he was very apologetic – he didn’t really know what he could do for us, but I went to visit him last June and it’s really taken off from then.
“I invited him to come into the college and give a five-minute talk to the students, who are aged 14 and 15. I wanted Malcolm to give them the benefit of his experience, in a kind of ‘my life in manufacturing’, and how he has seen the business change over the years. This developed into a 30-minute keynote speech, which really got the kids going.”
After the initial visit, Advanced Dynamics invited the 10 Diploma in MPD students to visit its factory, where Malcolm gave the students a tour and delivered a masterclass in securing orders and marketing.
“I’ve tried to get over that the way to get an order is to go into a meeting and listen,” he explains. “You’ve got two ears and one mouth and you should use each for the same amount of time.”
The students then visited a famous customer of Advanced Dynamics, Hallmark Cards on Bingley Road, Heaton, where they saw machinery in action and learned about the supply chain involved in the greeting card industry.
The next challenge will be a project to develop a marketing strategy for Advanced Dynamics based on what the students have learned so far. They will get help on the project from marketing company C8, based near Advanced Dynamics on Thornton Road.
David says stepping into a working environment and meeting Malcolm has been an invaluable experience for the students. “Even small things like waiting in reception and knowing they have to turn their mobiles off are important lessons to learn,” he says. “And getting used to talking to someone like Malcolm, in his business suit, is a great social process for them.”
“This is really tuning the kids in to the world of business,” says David. “They had no experience of it previously and visits like these are like gold. I just wouldn’t have their attention without the help we’ve received from Malcolm, and Advanced Dynamics.”
Malcolm, who began his working life in Ravensthorpe as an apprentice draftsman more than 30 years ago, says he expects his company to get as much out of the experience as the students. “It’s going to be very interesting,” he says. “I would be surprised if we didn’t get something that we could use. There are a couple of sharp youngsters in the group who ask questions that I sometimes struggle to answer.”
David says he is now on the lookout for more companies to engage the students’ interests in the world of manufacturing, especially a local company that can show them how the global economy is affecting their business.
But for the moment, the Diploma in MPD students are busy getting to grips with how a niche supplier like Advanced Dynamics fits into the supply chain and how it can develop its marketing strategy.
And David says the students are indebted to Malcolm for his enthusiasm and time spent with them. “If ever there was a business champion, then it’s Malcolm,” says David. “These are the UK’s future manufacturers and he’s given us the red carpet treatment.”
