Tiger Trailers’ popular Engineering Manufacturing apprenticeship programme has moved into its fourth year, with the company welcoming its latest intake of 10 new apprentices, as well as celebrating the first of its original group to complete the course.
When Tiger Trailers opened the doors to its Winsford factory in 2014, one of the first things Joint Managing Directors John and Steven Cartwright wanted to put in place was a well-structured apprenticeship programme, designed to nurture the best local talent from the area. To date, it has enrolled more than 30 young people to the scheme.
Steven Cartwright says: “We want to build a passionate, skilled workforce here at Tiger – and our apprentices are very much a part of that. We put a lot of effort into the programme and are willing to invest in every single person who joins the course. It’s great to see that all the hard work our original apprentices have put in is now coming to fruition, and we’re excited to see what the next group has to offer!”
Through a partnership with Mid-Cheshire College – now Warrington & Vale Royal College – Tiger originally offered a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Engineering Manufacturing. This year, the latest recruits are tackling a two-year, Level 2 programme, removing the mostly classroom-based third year. This change in approach was built around apprentice feedback, with the majority wanting a course weighed less heavily towards the classroom that they could complete sooner. That said, Tiger will support any of its apprentices to continue to Level 3, deciding if this is necessary on a case by case basis.
Each apprentice learns the skills of the industry on the shop floor, working with a mentor for four months on each of the major manufacturing stages; from body building and welding, through to auto electrics and pre-delivery inspection, each apprentice gains the knowledge required to help build the trailers and truck bodies Tiger supplies to some of the UK’s most recognisable brands.
Tiger Trailers is rapidly expanding and will soon begin construction on a new £22 million manufacturing facility, also located in Winsford. The new factory will also see an expansion of the company’s apprenticeship programme, with a dedicated training centre included in the building design that will allow Tiger to potentially double its yearly intake, as well as offer new courses across every aspect of the business.
“The new factory and training centre will provide us with the opportunity to increase the numbers of apprentices we take on each year, as well as adding to the range of skills and courses we are able to offer. This will provide us with all the tools we will need to spearhead Tiger’s growth into the next decade,” concludes Cartwright.
