Meet Simon McLeod, Manufacturing Training and Development Lead at BEL Engineering.
Simon joined the business in 2023 as we launched our apprentice training school. We caught up with him to hear about his background and plans for the apprenticeship scheme…
Welcome to the team Simon, how are you finding it so far?
The past year has been great! Everyone has been really welcoming and I feel established within the team since joining in June 2023.
What is your background?
I’m a tool maker by trade which covers a lot of disciplines in engineering. After school I completed an apprenticeship in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering a Precision 2000, which paved the way for my career. I remained with the company for nine years specialising in CNC machining.
With years of experience under my belt, I went on to join PDQ Engineering in Washington as a CNC Milling Section Leader, overseeing a team of 10 and successfully establishing an efficient streamlined production process.
Five years later I moved to EDM Zone where I spent 11 years in various roles such as a Wire Erosion Team Leader and Production Manager. Alongside my responsibilities, I supported the intake of apprentices by providing training, coaching and mentoring in areas such as milling, turning, wire erosion, spark erosion and grinding.
Why did you move into training and development?
I’m passionate about helping young people. I love the idea of building and expanding a workforce internally and the opportunities, particularly offered to apprentices at BEL Engineering, are market leading, so it’s very interesting to be a part of.
My Experience supporting apprentices led me to this role in BEL Engineering where I get the chance to teach the apprentices and pass on knowledge I have gained over the years to help with their development. It feels as if I have come full circle!
How does the training school help apprentices?
The training school offers a supportive learning experience for the apprentices where they can balance the academic work, alongside the hands-on practical work. It gives them more exposure to machines than the traditional route of shadowing other machinists by receiving more hands-on experience and producing ‘real life’ components.
The training school is also able to facilitate group sessions with external tooling providers and machine manufacturers, which is great experience for the apprentices. There are a lot of exciting projects for the apprentices to get involved with which will enhance their experience of learning and working at BEL Engineering.
What do apprentices work on?
The apprentices have a diverse schedule of training to ensure they have the opportunity to learn multiple disciplines within the business.
Groups of apprentices are rotated regularly to various work areas including fixturing, basic productions and batch work.
What benefit does this bring for apprentices?
The apprentices are operating machines in the training school at a much earlier stage in their careers, which means they understand how the machines work very quickly.
Starting with the basics, we work in small groups to ensure the apprentices develop the skills required to fully understand all of the engineering disciplines.
What plans do you have for the training school over the next five years?
I’d like to expand the training area to incorporate new machines and allow for more apprentices to work in the school. By the, I would like to continue to increase our presence as a leading apprenticeship provider in the industry and continue to build on the organisations excellent reputation not only for quality and service, but also for learning and development.
Find out more about the apprentice training school.
