RK International kits out The Leigh UTC in support of tomorrow's engineers

Says Simon Rood, sales manager, RK International Machine Tools: "As a business, we have been fully supportive of the education sector for more than 20 years and the opportunity to become heavily involved with The Leigh UTC, which is right on our doorstep, is something that we are all extremely proud to be involved with. "We see it as vitally important that colleges such as The Leigh UTC have the right equipment to provide the experience to students before they venture out into industry for the first time. Our experience in project management, combined with the mix of Europa mills, Colchester and Harrison lathes, along with two CNC machines will ensure that they can achieve a broad education in machining skills, while the other workshop equipment we have supplied will enhance the students' all-round engineering skills." UTCs are government-funded schools that teach 14-18-year-olds technical and scientific subjects in a whole new way and set out to educate the inventors, engineers, scientists and technicians of tomorrow. Students attending The Leigh UTC will experience an innovative, business-led, problem-solving curriculum throughout Key Stage 4 (two years that incorporate GCSEs and other exams in maintained schools in England, Wales), which will allow them to gain relevant work-related qualifications and transferable skills, with these enhancing their prospects for future training or employment. As part of this process,The Leigh UTC, which has a capacity of 600 students, required well equipped workshops in which students could gain broad experience of a variety of machine tools, from manual machines through to CNC units. Stephen Leahey, principal at The Leigh UTC, explains: "Our approach to learning is geared towards developing students that meet the requirements of modern industry and, as part of that, we work closely with local partners and sponsors who can assist by providing specialist knowledge and ensure that we are meeting the needs of industry. Our key target, though, is to make sure that, when students leave the college, they are fully prepared for progression to work directly within the engineering sector or to advance to further full-time education to develop the skills they have gained in their time with us." Along with the work the college is undertaking in conjunction with RK International Machine Tools, which includes open days and presentations to local engineering businesses, it has ensured that key local businesses are part of the management team. This includes Dartford-based Kenard Engineering, whose managing director, Keith Ellis, is chairman of the college's board of governors. He says: "Kenard Engineering has been delighted to have been so closely involved with the creation, design and development of The Leigh UTC. We firmly believe that this project will provide a solid foundation for creating the engineers of the future. I am pleased to confirm our total support for both the designs of the building and the education brief that has been developed for this UTC." The Leigh UTC's workshop has been kitted out with equipment supplied by RK International Machine Tools