Member Article

TyneMet Students Impress in New Scantime Engineering Partnership

17-year-old TyneMet students, Aaron Armstrong and Liam Surtees, achieved beyond expectation – smashing the pass rate of 60% with Credit and Distinction grades averaging 70-80% at a recent training week at Scantime Engineering.

Bursting with potential, the aspiring engineers worked alongside experienced industry professionals on a week-long course developed via an exciting new partnership between Gateshead-based Scantime Engineering and TyneMet College.

ScanTime is an automation software design consultancy and training provider working with leading global manufacturers and organisations such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Toyota USA and Hitachi. Specialising in the field of PLC programming, maintenance and fault finding; the company’s training courses have been developed specifically to provide engineers with the practical skills to reduce downtime and improve safety.

TyneMet College is well known for its leading engineering provision and outstanding industry partnerships; offering students a combination of engineering theory and hands-on training in a practical environment with great career prospects.

The new partnership between Scantime and TyneMet brings together the expertise of both organisations to produce an exciting new route into industry for the region’s budding engineers. It’s also great news for local businesses who are a struggling to provide their staff with the skills and qualifications to ensure the productivity and safety of their automated systems.

Liam and Aaron, who are currently studying a one-year full time Electrical Engineering Programme which is comprised of BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Engineering and EAL Performing Engineering Operations NVQ Level 2; recently completed Scantime’s new EAL certified five-day course, Industrial PLC Maintenance & Fault Finding Professional for Siemens S7-300 PLCs modules 1&2, which allowed them to build upon their college coursework with practical PLC programming and hands-on control experience in ScanTime’s Gateshead training lab.

ScanTime’s Managing Director, David Simm, commented: “There’s a serious lack of qualified PLC engineers in industry and we see our collaboration with TyneMet, in practical hands on training and e-learning courses, as a major step forward in filling that skills gap which is impacting on safety and productivity in the workplace.”

Aaron Armstrong spoke highly of the ScanTime course: “Although it was challenging, the course was extremely interesting and engaging because of its complicated structure. It was also interesting to see how companies use PLCs - I thoroughly enjoyed it!” He continued to speak of how useful the course will be: “This extra qualification will prove very useful in the future, as there is an increasing demand for PLC knowledge in companies. Having the extra qualification will increase my chances of finding the right job.”

Liam Surtees also shared his experience at ScanTime: “The course was really well structured and extremely interesting. The tutors were lovely and very helpful – they ensured lessons were always engaging. The qualification will make me more appealing to employers as the training is increasingly required across different industries.”

Deputy Head of Engineering at TyneMet College, Neil Dorward, is excited about the College’s partnership with Scantime: “We are working closely with Scantime to produce the next generation of engineers, and we hope to extend this exciting opportunity to more and more of our students as the partnership progresses. Arming young people with the skills that the industry requires is essential – not only to plug the skills gap, but to ensure our students leave the College equipped to succeed at interview and in the workplace.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tori Clayton .