UK aerospace manufacturer Moog has joined forces with a Black Country training specialist to deliver one of the biggest training programmes seen in the region this year.
Moog, which produces components for flight control systems supplied to Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, among others, is working with In-Comm Training and Business Services to put more than a quarter of its total workforce through specialist Business Improvement Techniques, or BIT, courses.
It is the biggest aerospace partnership in the training provider’s 31-year history.
Moog, a I54-based company, is investing nearly £1.5m in the training, which will see 130 of its staff from all areas of the business, develop new skills in continuous improvement, quality cost and delivery performance, shop floor efficiency and the latest lean manufacturing principles.
The contract, which will run until 2015, will help the manufacturer improve the workflow of its manufacturing cells, achieve required cost downs and free up capacity so it can compete for new contracts in the global aerospace market.
“People are at the heart of the Moog philosophy and we invest heavily in developing the skills of our 420 workers in Wolverhampton,” said Douglas Allen, value stream manager.
“The training is about instilling the right culture in our staff and making them think about how their individual roles impact on the business and what they can do in order to make a positive difference.
“There is no doubt offering these type of opportunities helps with staff retention and we firmly believe that the improvement projects we are undertaking will deliver millions [of pounds] of cost savings through improved workflow and reduced inventory.”
Three specialists from In-Comm will provide the on-site training, working with groups of between 10 and 12 staff on securing either a NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Business Improvement Techniques, with the possibility of progressing onto higher levels or six sigma.
“We’ve done a lot of work in the aerospace sector, but this is by far our largest contract to date and means we will be on site, supporting Moog and its staff, until December 2015,” Gareth Jones, sales and marketing manager at In-Comm, said
“One of the things we do really well is understand the DNA of the companies we work with and fully understand what they are looking to achieve. We can also unlock potential funding, which in this case amounted to over £347,000.”
