Xtrac, whose Apprenticeship scheme is supported by Newbury College, were the big winners recently after attending the Insider - Made in the South East awards in Guildford where they were awarded winners of two categories; Apprenticeship scheme and the top award of Manufacturing Company of the Year (over £25m turnover).
The highly commended entries and winners were announced at a high profile awards ceremony which was held at G Live on Thursday 10 October 2013. These awards show great team effort between Xtrac and its staff, and Newbury College in the employment of young people.
Martin Russell, Senior Business Executive at Newbury College said, "We are delighted to have played a part in helping to develop this quality Apprenticeship scheme for young people in West Berkshire. It is good to see a company investing in its apprentices and developing the talent of its workforce. Everyone at Newbury College wishes Xtrac luck in the UK Awards in Liverpool in 2014.
The awards which were compered by BBC journalist Justin Webb, heard from keynote speakers Alan Foster, operations director at McLaren Automotive, and Insider Media's managing director Marien Roberts. The winners will now go through to the Insider Made in the UK Awards, to be held in Liverpool in 2014.
Warren Page, Apprentice Co-ordinator at Xtrac commented "Through these awards it shows recognition for a great team effort between Xtrac and its staff, and Newbury College in the employment of young people. To invest in Apprenticeships, in conjunction with Newbury College is the future of our company. Our Apprenticeships will give these young people the knowledge and skills they need to progress in their careers as skilled machinists, assemblers, production engineers, trackside support and Team Leaders".
Established in 1984, Xtrac has become recognised as the worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of transmission systems supporting a wide client base covering top level motorsport, transportation, defence and marine. A privately owned company with a passion for winning and dedicated to continuous improvement, which is supported by personal development plans for key staff members and a well-funded capital expenditure programme.
Newbury College helped more people climb to success with a record number of people attending the recent open evening which showcased the variety of courses the College has to offer.
The open evening was more interactive than ever with curriculum areas demonstrating what their courses entailed by putting on fantastic displays and have a go activities including a climbing wall, manicures, hair demo, flower arranging, bricklaying and many more. Current students were on hand to talk to prospective students and their parents and show them around while talking about their College experience.
Newbury College Principal Dr Anne Murdoch said, "The evening was a great success. We are delighted with the number of visitors that came along to our open evening and pleased that so many people are interested in our courses".
The evening was a fantastic opportunity for the local community to view the College's state of the art facilities including the brand new training restaurant, and to see the many courses on offer. The College's business students helped to organise the activities and attended the event on the welcome desk, giving guided tours and chatting to prospective leaners.
For those in Year 11, the evening was a chance for them and their parents to discover the options available to them after GCSEs. Meanwhile, adult learners attending the event had an opportunity to find out more about Newbury College and explore ways in which to further their career or to develop a new hobby.
Newbury College HND Engineering student Matt Booth has been awarded the Institute of Engineering Design (iED) Annual student award for his final year project, for which he achieved a distinction grade.
The annual award is given to iED student members on HNC/HND courses who produce exceptional final year projects. Each year Colleges whose Engineering courses are accredited by the iED choose a student project to submit to be considered by the panel of iED judges.
Newbury College Engineering Lecturer, Richard Willis is delighted that Matt has been recognised as an outstanding engineering professional and said, "As in the past, due to the very high standard of projects produced by HNC/HND learners at the College, it was very difficult to select a single project to be submitted for this award. Throughout the year Matt attainted a very high standard in all units studied and his project displayed the excellent working relationship between the College and his employer".
The iED Education and Training Committee judging panel choose a limited number of projects each year to receive the accolade, which are chosen after stringent assessment of the project reports. Matt was one of 18 students to have their work submitted to the iED of which only 8 projects received the prestigious awards.
Matt's studies are supported by his employer Xtrac Ltd who are pleased with the results of the project and the benefits it brings to their business. Talking of his project Matt said, "Working as a Production Engineer for Xtrac Ltd, I wanted to be involved with a relevant project which reflected some of the responsibilities within my job role. The design brief for the project was: 'To carry out a design review of work-holding fixtures for the miling of Mainshaft (M/S) Gears in Xtrac's Gear Ratio Cell'. In order to meet the design brief a full design review was carried out beginning by re-defining the specification of the solution."
The project involved research including market analysis and from there Matt designed and created protocols for his solution. Matt's solution is now in use with his employer and provides a fully verified and proven design, which can be adopted for manufacture of similar products in the future.
To be eligible to receive an award iED student members have to attain two distinctions for their HNC/HND programme. One of the distinctions must be in a project at Level H related to Engineering Design. The other distinction is to be in either Engineering Design or Computer Aided Design at Level H.
Newbury College hosted a free Sports Taster Day 'Inspire West Berkshire' with special guest, British Equestrian Gold medallist Sophie Christiansen, who won three Gold medals in the 2012 Paralympics. The event took place on Saturday 2 November from 11.30am to 3pm and was held to encourage both disabled and non-disabled people to try new sports activities.
Sophie Christiansen inspired attendees by giving a presentation over lunch about life in sport and the London 2012 Olympics. The day was organised in partnership with West Berkshire Council, NHS Berkshire West alongside Get Berkshire Active, Berkshire Blind Society, Adventure Dolphin and Sport England. The event is part of the 'Inspire West Berkshire' campaign and is one of six leisure activities being held across the West Berkshire district. Those who attended had the opportunity to take part in a range of sports including Goal Ball, Wheelchair Basketball, Archery and Indoor Kayaking.
Newbury College Sports Maker and Enrichment Officer Joe Pegg who helped organise the event said, "To host an event of this nature is a great way to inspire and engage people in to sport. These events are put on to showcase what sports and activities are available and to get more people active. In order to run an event like this takes a lot of time and key partnership working, which is a testament to the work that goes on in and around West Berkshire".
The objective of day was to encourage people to get more active and to stay active and healthy. Each activity caters for children and adults of any ability, experience and confidence level. Everyone attending had the opportunity to set themselves a new challenge, make new friends with like-minded people or purely just to enjoy themselves.
Inspire West Berkshire is also looking at encouraging people to look at the possibility of volunteering and even setting up their own informal leisure groups. Inspire Co-ordinators were on hand on the day to discuss any needs and requirements to help a new groups move forward.
If you're interested in setting up your own leisure group, or want more information about Inspire West Berkshire. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit www.getberkshireactive.org, or call 01628 473 031 for more information.