On Monday 3rd March the West Midlands branch welcomed 21 attendees to Churchill’s in Wednesbury for an informative and engaging presentation delivered by ICME’s Amy Worrallo MICME, Training and EPA Manager on The Value of Training. 6 further attendees joined virtually.
Amy discussed the current challenges facing the industry and how training and development can help to future-proof a business. She discussed why training should be a priority for business to address succession planning and help with problem solving for customers, whilst building resilience. She outlined how skills development benefits companies and the work that ICME has done to support the industry over the past few years. She also discussed the future plans of the Institute.
Over the past 3 years ICME has offered a new certified course in Cast Iron Production, Metallurgy and Quality Control – this course was developed by Amy and Pam Murrell, working with the tutors and a number of employers from the industry to offer a very bespoke course. To date 2 cohorts have completed this 18-month programme. The course is mix of theoretical and practical sessions that have been linked to projects the individuals complete at their companies with some fantastic successes. Amy explained there is a Aluminium and Copper version of the Cast Iron Metallurgy Programme currently being developed, and it is hoped that these will be ready for delivery later in 2025.
ICME also offers bespoke training to individual companies, she explained, and she presented details of some of the technical and leadership / management courses that have recently been delivered to companies, including a 4-day course delivered in Iceland to the only iron foundry based there.
A schools engagement project is currently running via ICME, delivering the Casting my Future programme, with the support of the Cast Metals Federation and Gen Makers to engage high school children with the industry. The project is supported by the Foundry Training Trust and includes a VR experience (as a virtual foundry tour) in schools, as well as foundry visits to a number of foundries in the West Midlands, with a very positive outcome. The project aims to raise the profile of the industry, show metal casting manufacture and encourage young people to consider a career in casting.
The talk concluded with some interesting questions, lively debate, and a round of applause to thank Amy.
The hot buffet was kindly sponsored by Alucast Ltd.
The full presentation can be viewed by using the following link to our YouTube channel, ‘Casting the Future’ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTS-sY4GW3o
