DCG Success Stories

Engineering business Measurement Solutions Limited could not be happier with the progress made by its first ever Derby College apprentice.

Sixteen-year-old Charlie Clare joined the firm’s small team in September on a three-year level 3 apprenticeship in Advanced Manufacturing in Engineering (mechatronics maintenance technician), and has fitted in perfectly, report the company’s owners.

East Midlands-based MSL, which specialises in 3D scanning, inspection and metrology, recruited Charlie after contacting DCG on an entirely separate matter.

Rob Greenbank, MSL account manager said: “We were talking to our contact at DCG about a piece of machinery that the college was looking to sell.

“Through those conversations, we go to learn about one of DCG’s engineering students, Charlie, who was looking for an apprenticeship.

“We were looking for an apprentice so we interviewed Charlie and liked what we saw. We found him to be bright, confident and self-disciplined.

“What really impressed us though was his dedication to BMXing. Charlie races in BMX competitions all around the country most weekends and could be going to the Olympics one day.

“We were also pleased to discover that when he wasn’t at college or BMXing, Charlie was busy helping out on a farm during the summer holiday.

“In the modern world, many young people spend all of their spare time gaming or on their phones full time.

“We wanted to employ someone that showed a desire to be productive with their time, earn money and learn”.

Since joining the company, Charlie has had a great impact on the business.

Rob added: “He assists the sales support team and is now getting involved in other areas of what we do, such as developing calibration testing and fault finding.”

As former apprentices themselves, both Rob and MSL’s managing director Andy Tagg, are keen advocates of apprenticeships.

Rob said: “We both came to our careers via that route and would like to provide similar opportunities to today’s young people.

“We’re a small business with 16 people but following our success with Charlie we’d definitely look to take on more apprentices in the future.”

MSL is a trusted UK partner for end-to-end design, manufacture and inspect solutions.

Established in 1998, the expanding company provides products and services to some of the UK’s leading automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and educational organisations.

It also delivers solutions to the heritage, heavy industry, education and consumer products sectors.