OEM companies attend Employer Information and Networking event in Co Cork.

On Thursday night last, the OEM Engineering Apprenticeship held an Employer Information and Networking event in Co Cork.

The event took place at the premises of current OEM Apprenticeship employer, Jungheinrich Ireland, a leading material handling solutions provider, specialising in complete warehouse design, construction and project management. Jungheinrich Lift Truck Ltd is the Irish subsidiary of Jungheinrich AG, Hamburg.

The event was an opportunity for companies considering hiring OEM Engineering Apprentices to network with current apprenticeship employers and hear about the many benefits of the programme first-hand. The apprenticeship educational providers were also on hand to give a detailed account of the programme and to answer any questions from the invited guests.

The event was opened by Paul Lynam, Managing Director of Jungheinrich Ireland / UK, who remarked,

“I find this an excellent showcase of leading and innovative companies based and active in the Irish OEM market and the importance that they attach to the development of their teams for the future and what can be achieved when Industry and the Educational and Training sector work together. The OEM Apprenticeship programme is a very important part of our longer-term plans”

Stephen Carron, Coordinating Tutor, along with his fellow tutors, gave an overview of the modules covered on the apprenticeship and spoke of the relevance of the classroom learning to the workplace application, saying.

“The OEM apprenticeship aims to train and provide multiskilled technicians that have exposure to electrical, mechanical and various other types of systems. What we have seen during our company visits meets and exceeds those requirements ensuring your employees become successful OEM Technicians”

Industry experts from Dairymaster, Jungheinrich, Moffett Automated Storage and Turmec also addressed the group, giving accounts of their experience with the programme and the benefits that it has brought to their business.

In 2015, twenty-two manufacturing companies from across the island of Ireland came together to identify their common skills gaps. They initially identified a lack of practical mechatronics knowledge as one of the main gaps which would become very much the core for initiating the programme. This along with other electro-mechanical and soft skill modules would become the fundamental foundation of the OEM Apprenticeship programme. 

This 3-year, Level 6 apprenticeship programme is very much Industry led, which gives good scope for the continuous development of the programme in line with the evolution of industry needs. For a full list of modules covered on the programme, visit: https://oemapprenticeship.ie/