C2M (UK) Ltd

Design expert, innovator, inventor, engineer – all terms that could be used to describe Gateshead entrepreneur Gary Thompson, Managing Director of C2M (UK) Ltd.

Anyone who thinks a career in manufacturing and engineering does not sound interesting, should read Gary’s CV. From working as an engineering consultant for blue-chip companies such as Airbus, JCB and McDonald Douglas, to heading up the business development department at Northumbria University, Gary’s working life has been nothing if not diverse.

And all the more so since he founded C2M, or ‘Concept to Manufacture’, in 2004. Specialising in turning clients’ ideas into novel and imaginative products, Gary and his team have worked for hundreds of companies from industries as diverse as healthcare and food and drink, picking up numerous awards for their inventions along the way.

But these are not the only strings to Gary’s bow. He is also a vocal advocate of businesses playing a bigger role in education, and in this capacity has recently become an official employer champion for the new Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design (MPD), available to 14 to 19 year olds from September 2009. For Gary, the equation is simple – if the industry does not get involved with teaching specialist skills and knowledge to young people while they are still in school and college, it will never get the recruits it needs to flourish and grow.

Part of Gary’s passion for education stems from his own experiences growing up in a pit village in County Durham. “All my brothers became engineers at a time when the only career path open to you was going down the mine,” he said. “But I left school with only two qualifications. I remember my teacher telling me I would never do anything with my life. I have been trying to prove him wrong ever since.”

Now a chartered engineer with a Masters Degree in Product Manufacture, Gary started out as an apprentice toolmaker and has largely financed his qualifications himself. But it was the early taste of industry Gary gained as an apprentice, which he claims inspired him to aim high, and he believes that is something many young people will gain through taking the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design.

“I was part of the last generation to do the original Apprenticeships,” he said. “In my opinion, some of that experience of learning practical skills and knowledge which I enjoyed so much was lost for a time when Apprenticeships disappeared in the 1980s and early 1990s. You don’t learn everything from a text book. You need that practical, hands-on experience. I think that is one of the great strengths of this Diploma.”

The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design has been developed in close consultation with leading manufacturing companies to give young people a realistic and practical understanding of industry. It will be taught through consortia, or partnerships, of schools, colleges and employers, allowing students to divide their time between the classroom, workshops and the workplace. Companies will be asked to assist by hosting site visits, giving talks and lectures and setting topics for projects, as well as keeping teachers and tutors up to speed with industry developments, and offering work experience placements.

Gary already has experience of a great deal of this type of work, as an enthusiastic supporter of local Education Business Partnership initiatives in the North East. Part of his recent work has been training teachers from the region’s 14-19 partnerships, which include two of the initial 28 consortia that will deliver the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design in 2009, in the latest regulations for design registration, trademarks and patents. Gary believes the opportunity the Diploma gives to all companies to get involved in similar work is vital to the future health of the country’s manufacturing sector.

“One of the key things we are trying to get across is that manufacturing isn’t a dirty job,” he said. “There are all sorts of opportunities, as I well know. It offers a very diverse career path and we are trying to change perceptions. But to do that, we need manufacturers themselves to be involved on the front line, showing young people what the realities are.

“By giving young people better opportunities to learn about what really goes on in industry, it brings them up to speed with expectations and therefore gives employers reassurances that the young people they recruit will be up to the job. I have had experience of taking on people who seem to know what they are talking about, but are simply overwhelmed once the work starts – and this has such a big impact on time and resources. Teenagers who take the Diploma will know what to expect in the workplace, and will already have some of the skills they need to succeed.”

The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is being introduced as part of the second wave of 17 new Diplomas which will be available to all school pupils in England by 2013. It will be available at three levels – Foundation, Higher and Advanced. It is intended to open up a variety of progression routes to participating students, including employment, Apprenticeships, Further and Higher Education.

All students taking the Diploma in MPD will study business and management, materials science and product design, and production and processing as core topics or ‘Principal Learning’. Additional and Specialist Learning options will allow students to choose from a range of vocational manufacturing qualifications, GCSEs and A levels to supplement their principal learning. This will be further complemented by work experience, an extended project, and assessment in functional skills in English, maths and IT, as well as employability skills such as self-management, team working and reflective learning.