600 Lathes MD heads up training strategy group

Jonathan Shaw, managing director 600 Lathes, Heckmondwike, has been appointed chairman of the SEMTA Metals, Mechanical, and Electrical (MME) Sector Strategy Group. The group is focused on identifying skills shortages in this sector and recommending solutions to fill skills gaps. Semta is the employer-led skills council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies in the UK. The sectors it represents are: Aerospace, Automotive, Bioscience, Electrical, Electronics, Maintenance, Marine, Mathematics, Mechanical, Metals and Engineered Metal Products and Science. Its role is to the raise skills levels and competitiveness in the 76,000 companies and 1.4 million-strong workforce that make up these sectors. 600 Lathes manufactures the Colchester-Harrison lathes “The future of our industry depends upon the skills and commitment of our young people,” said Mr Shaw. “600 Lathes has a continuing commitment to training – we run an apprentice programme every year and maintain a series of training programmes which operate throughout the company, encompassing all staff and provide a promising career path to our employees. Our goal is to be an efficient and cost- effective manufacturing facility which will become a quality reference site of choice not only for our distributors but for manufacturing within the UK. A high standard of training is an important element of that. “Undertaking the role of chairman of the MME strategy group will enable me to help continue increasing the standards and availability of training more widely. This will assist all manufacturing companies, not just 600 Lathes, to flourish in an increasing competitive global market.”