Since its foundation more than four decades ago, Swindon based Wilson Tool International has grown to become the world’s largest independent tooling manufacturer.

With advanced manufacturing plants in the UK and the USA and technical sales centres in Denmark, France, Germany and China, Wilson Tool is a truly global operation and a market leader in the manufacture of state-of the art punching solutions and a comprehensive range of tools available to
metal fabricators around the world.

The firm has a long history of working with apprentices and has offered apprenticeship places for more than 25 years. In fact, many senior members of staff who started out as apprentices now have supervisory roles with the firm and are fully qualified, highly trained design engineers and production engineers.

Trevor Davies (HR Manager) says:
“Apprenticeships are a mainstay of our company’s operations and will continue to be an integral part of our recruitment, training and development strategy in the years ahead. They provide a first class route into the world of work for young, ambitious people and help deliver the engineering and manufacturing skills that continue to be short supply across the region.”

Wilson Tool takes on between one and three apprentices per year and competition is fierce for the coveted roles. They have built a strong partnership with Avon Vale Training, who has been their training provider for more than a decade.

“Avon Vale brings real expertise and helps get the best from the apprentice. They access available funding and also help in finding the right young people to recruit. We’ve had some really good apprentices over the years” says Trevor Davies.

Wilson Tool’s Apprenticeship scheme is a three to four year course encompassing all aspects of design and product engineering. Apprentices benefit from a structured training programme which in the first year sees them receiving an all round introduction to the engineering sector with placements
in design engineering, on the shop floor as well as being behind the scenes in the office.

In the second year, the training becomes more specialised as apprentices learn more about the ins and outs of the design and manufacture of replacement tooling for the punch press industry. After successfully completing Level 2 of the NVQ in Performing Engineering Operations, apprentices are
encouraged to go on to achieve NVQ Level 3, covering more advanced engineering competencies.

Trevor says; “Apprenticeships deliver on all fronts – they provide young people with an excellent opportunity to develop and hone their skills in a real working environment and give employers access to a pool of highly motivated individuals who are keen to learn and get on”