The trend among tier-two aerospace suppliers to shoulder a higher level of engineering responsibility for the components and subsystems they supply to larger OEMs is just one factor driving the need to ensure the availability of an adequate skills base. For UK precision engineering company Nasmyth, this has led to a concerted effort to recruit and train apprentices in tandem with its efforts to launch new joint ventures in places such as India and South Carolina. On June 26, it opened the office of its new Indian subsidiary in the country’s aerospace hub Bangalore.
In recent years, the company has been taking on around 10 to 15 apprentices annually but managing director Peter Smith told AIN he would like this number to increase so that at any given time roughly 35 of its 680 employees are apprentices–about twice the national average for UK manufacturing firms.
Nasmyth, which is marking its 10th anniversary this year, makes items such as intermediate casings to connect the front and rear sections of engines. It is also a specialist in applying customized treatments to aerospace components.
“We aim to provide a total solution to the OEMs,” said Smith. “It might involve machining components, treating surfaces or even making significant subsystems. It is now more common for us to have significant design input so that, for instance, we might be given only the diameter and axis of pipes and then have to design the right connections for them.”
Smith acknowledged that it can be challenging to attract young people to pursue careers in aerospace manufacturing and also to find those with a desirable level of base skills. He pointed to this Friday’s Futures Day at the Farnborough International Airshow as a prime opportunity to recruit new talent. Nasmyth also sponsors continuing education opportunities for existing employees.
“OEMs have a finite amount of engineering capacity and so they are encouraging companies down the supply chain to take more responsibility,” said Smith. “We are competing against the world’s best and we have to be selective about the contracts we bid for in terms of how they match our skills base and investment capability.”
In terms of rewards for making these investments, Smith acknowledged that build rates are high in the civil aerospace sector but in his view they have probably plateaued for now.