Engineers of the future show their Skills

 

Maintenance engineering apprentices, from major companies across Northern Ireland,  showcased their expertise on 30 March in the first Northern Ireland Mechatronics skills competition.

 

Mechatronics is the combination of mechanical and electronic engineering to create useful products. It represents an industry-wide effort to improve the design process by integrating the best available development practices and technologies to streamline design, prototyping and deployment. For those designing industrial machinery, equipment, vehicles or other devices with moving parts and electronically controlled actuators, Mechatronics technology can help lower development costs, reduce risk, and produce higher-quality products.

 

The event, funded by the Department for Employment and Learning and hosted by the Northern Regional College, Ballymena, is intended to become an annual event in the Northern Ireland skills calendar. In this year’s competition, five teams of two competitors undertook several complex Mechatronics engineering tests aiming towards the seamless integration of mechanical, electronic and software engineering.

 

The Mechatronics test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of apprentices to follow detailed instructions, produce accurate and neat work outputs, be economical with materials, all while working to strict timescales - essential requirements for today’s engineering manufacturing industry. The competition not only encourages apprentices to demonstrate and improve their own skills, but provides an example of the high quality work being produced in training organisations across Northern Ireland to meet the skills needs of local industry.

 

David Hatton, from the Engineering Training Council for Northern Ireland and joint organiser of the Mechatronics competition said: “The young people who compete in the Mechatronics competition are a credit to the manufacturing industry and help promote a positive image of engineering to other young people. Despite the downturn in the industry and wider economy, training has never been more important, as companies need the skills to compete for the work currently available and to respond to the upturn when it happens. By encouraging their most talented employees to compete in this competition, employers are demonstrating their commitment to training and excellence whilst developing the skills within their workforce.”

 

The Minister for Employment and Learning, Sir Reg Empey, paid tribute to the high standard of engineering skills demonstrated by the Northern Ireland apprentices at the Mechatronics competition. He said:“Skills development and access to good quality education and training which meets the needs of employers is vital to the success of all sectors of Northern Ireland’s economy. We need to train and up-skill the workforce in readiness for the eventual financial recovery. 

 

 

The Minister again took the opportunity to highlight the closing date of 9 April 2009 for entering the WorldSkills UK competitions, marking the beginning of the journey to WorldSkills 2011 which the UK is hosting in London.

 

Mr. Trevor Neilands, Director of the Northern Regional College said, “We are delighted to have hosted the 2009 Northern Ireland Mechatronic Skills Competition. Mechatronics is a skill area vital to modern industry, combining the skills of electrical, mechanical and control engineering into one highly trained technician – able to install, commission and fault-find on sophisticated automated manufacturing and processing systems. As a College we are committed to supporting and encouraging skills excellence in this Sector.”