“My apprenticeship has been life-changing,” says Marsh. “Working with a company that really values and supports young trainees has enabled me to grow both as an engineer and as a person. My mentors have been fantastic, giving me the insights and tools to help make a difference to the production process. I would recommend the apprenticeship route to anyone; I decided not to go to university – even after securing a place – and that was definitely the right decision. “
Marsh works at OnePlastics’ MGB Plastics factory in Rotherham and is no stranger to success having already scooped a major industry award for getting council crest plate changes down to 34 seconds from 10 minutes, saving in excess of £137,000 a year in production costs. He is now part of a team appointed by the managing director to cut waste from the production line; MGB plastics is the UK’s largest manufacturer of local authority wheelie bins and invests heavily in modern equipment.
Ian Cosgrove, training adviser at OnePlastics, says Marsh is definitely a “rising star” having won the British Plastics Federation Apprentice of the Year in 2017, and is delighted he has reached the regional finals of the national awards. Cosgrove also heaped praised on the AMRC Training Centre’s commitment towards creating a pipeline into industry for future engineering and manufacturing talent: “We are extremely fortunate in having such a well-equipped and professional training provider on our door step. Working closely with the AMRC Training Centre, we developed Oliver’s higher-level programme, integrating a polymer diploma to run alongside his mechanical qualification.
“It was refreshing to work with a team with such a ‘can-do’ attitude, an attribute that is often lacking in training providers who push a ‘one size fits all’ philosophy,” he continues. “At our Rotherham site, we mould more than 1.5 million units per year, and this figure is forecast to grow with the integration of cutting-edge automation and technology. This business growth can only be achieved by engaging a highly effective multi-disciplined team of well-trained engineers and technicians. As we all know, these people are extremely difficult to find. That is why OnePlastics has embraced the training levy programme and now has 18 apprentices across a range of skills and ages, and we are committed to ‘growing our own’.”
Nikki Jones, director of the AMRC Training Centre, says Marsh is a very worthy finalist in the awards and a shining example of the success that can be achieved through apprenticeships: “Oliver is one of our higher apprentices and an absolute credit to the AMRC Training Centre and his company. During his apprenticeship, and beyond, he has displayed the right attitude, passion and commitment that companies are crying out for in manufacturing and engineering, and being in the finals of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2018 is testament to that.”
