Sourcing the skills to help composites fly

Aerospace sector demand for advanced manufacturing is providing opportunities for firms like composites manufacturer, Pentaxia. Company managing director, Stephen Ollier, looks at how talent and technology can help companies to soar in these uncertain economic times.

A key driver for the growth in advanced composites is the demand for high performance and lightweight composite materials in aircraft programmes. An emerging trend proving to have a direct impact on the industry is the increased use of thermoplastics prepreg which is supported by the development and production of advanced aircraft models.

To meet this demand, composites manufactures are deploying advanced technologies such as automation to increase quality and productivity. IT and robotics are having a profound impact on the manufacturing industry, but if we are to optimise the benefits of emerging technology we must recognise our sector’s skills shortage.

For companies like Pentaxia, where 65% of our work is a mix of on-aircraft components and tooling, it is vital that we have a skilled workforce of IT and engineering professionals to support the use of improved technologies and systems. As an industry we must look to invest in engineering talent and embrace performance enhancing technologies, if the UK is to remain competitive in a global market.

Because of this, we have invested £1.5 million into a larger facility that will enable us to grow our team of specialist engineers, increase our production capabilities and install more state of the art equipment. This move prompted interest from colleagues and leaders in the engineering sector who have been keen to find out more about our plans for future growth. Last year we met with Carolyn Griffiths, president of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) as part of her annual tour of business in the East Midlands. The visit from Carolyn Griffiths was a fantastic opportunity to not only demonstrate Pentaxia’s current capabilities as a rapidly growing advanced composite manufacturer in the UK, but to discuss the current state of engineering education.

As a sector we must ask, how effective are college engineering courses at preparing the next generation of skilled engineers? How can we support and build on this platform to ensure the UK has the expertise required to meet the increasing demand of the industry? At Pentaxia, we are addressing these challenges through our commitment to apprentices and trainees. We are in the process of establishing an internal training centre, dedicated to training new starters under the Composites Technician Trailblazer Apprenticeship, as well as continuing our commitment to ‘on the job’ training. We also provide continued development opportunities for our staff, many of whom are typically mid- career and are looking for a new and interesting challenge.

There are many merits to diversifying a workforce and to achieve this we are welcoming people looking to transfer their skills from other industries. We would encourage other manufacturing firms to have an open approach to recruitment and welcome people who can bring additional skills and knowledge from other sectors. For us, this type of diverse talent provides a huge benefit to the growth and expansion of our company, particularly as we look to move into other markets such as energy and defence.

The UK composites industry is an exciting place to be right now. There is tremendous growth and significant change all happening simultaneously. Companies that can embrace and adapt to the challenges will grow rapidly and those that cannot will struggle to survive in the longer term. The UK is in a great position to exploit the potential, as aviation industries help keep the technology moving forwards.

https://pentaxia.com/