Frederick Cooper hails impact of £400,000 Learning Academy as potential blueprint for easing the ‘NEET’ issue

A Birmingham manufacturer is urging more companies to follow its lead to ensure we avoid a ‘lost generation’ of talent.

Frederick Cooper, which provides wet paint spraying and powder coatings to prestigious car manufacturers and clients in advanced engineering, medical and hospitality, has invested more than £400,000 into developing its own Learning Academy and is now reaping the benefits of improved efficiency and greater access to skills.

The company welcomed the renewed focus on youth unemployment following the publication of Alan Milburn’s interim ‘Young People and Work’ review and believes employers can play a more active role in creating meaningful pathways into employment.

Since the launch of its in-house facility, it has successfully taken on 20 individuals to undertake their Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices. It has also upskilled 150 staff members and is about to launch a new Graduate Programme.

“The Milburn report identifies a shrinking number of entry-level opportunities, declining apprenticeship participation and increasing barriers to work experience as key contributors to the problem,” explained Jai Purewal, Operations Director at Frederick Cooper.

“We had spotted these factors four years ago and, rather than just bemoan the situation, we decided to do something about them, creating our own Learning Academy at our Small Heath facility and developing bespoke skills plans for all employees.”

He continued: “This has been a win-win on all fronts. We’ve grown turnover 12% in the last year alone by filling some of the competency gaps we were experiencing, brought the average of the workforce down considerably and, importantly, given career chances to 20 young people.

“Businesses have an important role to play in rebuilding the first rung of the career ladder. And it’s not training for training’s sake, that doesn’t work. We’ve put in place structured internal and external training, built a solid partnership with In-Comm Training and introduced work buddies and mentors, who guide our new recruits.”

Frederick Cooper, which employs 150 people at its Bordesley Green factory, supplies complex parts for customers ranging from Aston Martin, JLR and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to dispensing components for mass brands, such as Heineken and Madri.

To cope with planned expansion plans, the company needs access to an agile workforce that boasts flexible skills and has the attitude to be able to handle volumes in excess of 5 million parts to producing a handful of some of the most complex coated components in the world.

The Learning Academy was seen as its ‘silver bullet’ and, in its first four years of operation, has trained 20 apprentices and delivered 14,500 hours of development time for team members. 

This includes leadership development training for mentors, who provide critical support for new and existing apprentices.

Jai continued: "The answer is not simply to identify the problem but to invest in solutions. Apprenticeships, work experience, better engagement with schools and universities – they’ve all played a role in how we have met the challenge head-on.

“Our next step is to launch our Graduate Scheme in the next few months, working with a leading regional university to place four immediate graduates in jobs that can eventually lead all the way to the boardroom.

“We also want to start offering one industrial placement every year for students in their ‘sandwich year’, with the view that they come and work for us when they’ve finished their degree.”

Jai concluded: “The scheme will provide graduates with opportunities to apply their academic learning in a real-world manufacturing environment while supporting the development of future engineering, technical and business leaders.”