Cooper Coated Coil apply specialist coatings to steel and aluminium substrate materials.
Why did you decide to take on students for work experience?
To avoid the minefield of hiring pre-“qualified” engineers, the company plan was to start hiring apprentices to mould to our unique requirements as part of long term succession planning. Starting with work experience was a way to access people already on their academic journey who will shortly be looking for employment
How has the company benefitted from offering work experience?
As a company, it appears that we may have found our next full time member of the engineering staff, with the opportunity to develop a tailored skillset.
What support did you receive from the college when setting up work experience and what support is provided to you and your work experience students during their training?
The liaison from the college has been very open and supportive. There were several onsite meetings before the student began work experience, and there have been periodic progress meetings throughout.
What would you say to other employers who are considering offering work experience?
This has turned out, as we hoped, as a perfect opportunity to assess whether a potential future employee has all the desirable fundamental traits, (politeness, attitude to work, attitude to learning presentation etc.) without having to fully hire them first.
