Student Stories
Alfie at Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team – July 2011
Alfie came to SKIDZ in September 2010. He used to live in Somerset but had several unsuccessful placements at secondary schools in the area. He moved to Amersham to live and has gradually re-integrated into Amersham School with support from The Wycombe and Chess Valley Grange before starting at SKIDZ. He is now doing really well and managing his learning difficulties.
Alfie would really like to be a mechanic when he leaves school so SKIDZ is proving good grounding for him. Here at SKIDZ he has demonstrated his interest in motor vehicles, he is a good team player, and works very hard. He attends sessions twice a week and has very regular attendance. Since joining us he has grown in confidence and self-esteem. Aside from motor vehicles Alfie has other interests; he enjoys fishing and plays rugby for Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club.
The opportunity to do a week of work experience at Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team’s headquarters was an amazing experience for Alfie. He has returned with a full account of his activities during the week which started on Monday with 2 hours of Health and Safety information, including videos on lifting, etc. He also needed to sign the confidentiality form to protect the highly technical details he would see and work on during his 5 days there.
Next Alfie went on a tour with Peter Hodgkinson – Head of Car Build. He then was given the task of cleaning and polishing the front and rear wings of Michael Schumacher’s and Nico Rosberg’s cars. He met Nico whilst working on the wings. Tuesday saw Alfie cleaning the engine cover and chassis of a car. He took out bolts from a brake cover and cleaned it ready for spraying. After a tour of the paint shop he was shown the gear box and the functions of all the parts; he then had the task of cleaning parts on both race cars. On Wednesday he returned to the paint shop to spray the brake covers he had cleaned, and also to sand and spray other protective shields. He cleaned the floor of Nico’s car. A visit to the wind tunnel gave him the chance to see how aerodynamics are tested which he found very interesting. Thursday and Friday was spent helping to polish and prepare the cars ready to go to Munich. The icing on the cake for Alfie was the chance to meet Ross Brawn on Friday, to say thank you to him for this amazing experience and to get his autograph.
It is clear from Alfie’s recounting of his week what a fantastic opportunity and experience this has been for him – a once in a lifetime chance. Peter Hodgkinson, Mercedes Team Head of Car Build, has given us the following feedback about him:
“Alfie was great fun to have around for a week. He worked well with all the mechanics and was a great help for the short time he was with us. We would welcome him back at anytime and I wish him every success for the future”.
Charlie
Charlie shows new commission how ‘world-class’ training works
By Neil Phillips Bucks Free Press Reporter
A RISING star apprentice from High Wycombe has been celebrated in a bid to see what makes a world class’ trainer of employees tick.
Chris Humphries, chief executive for the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), visited BMW UK’s training academy near Reading on Monday.
Charlie Hill, 21, who lives in Marlow, works at the BMW Sytner High Wycombe Dealership, in London Road. He has overcome concentration and learning difficulties to complete his apprenticeship and become a technician.
Mr Hill has recently been awarded BMW Group Academy UK’s Best Improver 2007′ and has been put forward for a national achievement award for young people who have learning difficulties.
He said: “I was expelled from school and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. I suffered similar problems in my first year at BMW before I recognised that my reluctance to learn was getting in the way of a job I loved.
“I turned the situation around, was put on the third year fast track and became one of the first to be fully qualified. I now take great pride in my work and enjoy the responsibility of being a first aider and mentoring apprentices.”
The visit was the first of many to be made by the new commission, which officially launches on April 1. It aims to help the UK become a leader in employment, skills and productivity, and ensure the UK’s employment and skills system responds to the needs of business and public services.
Mr Humphries said: “I want to listen and learn from employers about what they are doing to invest in skills training and to celebrate best practice.
“My visit to BMW UK is very far from being a meet and greet. I want to find out exactly what makes their skills training world class.”
BMW apprentices are employed in technical or sales roles at high-street dealerships where they learn on-the-job with support from workplace mentors and assessors.
This is then built upon in academy training weeks. The £17 million BMW Group Academy UK at Wokefield Park was set up two years ago to tackle skills gaps in the industry.
In 2009 Charlie became Apprentice of the Year at Sytner.
O came to us first as part of the Increased Flexibility Programme, attending the Entry Level Course. He did not stand out as an excellent student at the time. Sadly O’s lifestyle began to change and he became involved with criminal activities, and to have the inevitable problems at home. After leaving SKIDZ he took part in a Youth at Risk programme which enabled him to take control of his life and see the direction in which he was heading. Through his own hard work and determination he managed to turn his life around and start afresh. Several months later he came to SKIDZ full-time to gain work experience and to look for work in the motor trade. In the meantime too, he applied for acceptance into the army. O’s patience and perseverance was eventually rewarded with acceptance into REME. He is extremely happy, enjoying life and has successfully put all his problems behind him. He is now one of the Forces top skiers!
Toby Newton is the 2006 reining Ginetta Junior Champion, having found his feet in karting – yet he is only 15 years old and in his first year of car racing. Toby has signed up with the successful GT Racing Team, Xero Competition and will drive a Xero-run Radical SR4 in the Dunlop Radical Bidura Championships. Xero Competition is a professional racing team who have competed in British GT, Britcar, and Belcar in recent years with great success. In 2006 they will compete in the British Touring Championships. In 2005 Toby was the British Playstation 2 Junior Ginetta champion in his first full season in car racing. He had 4 wins, double wins at Brands Hatch, 5 lap records, 10 podiums of 12 races, and was never out of the top 4. He was voted the 10th greatest sports car driver in 2005.
Toby will be their youngest ever driver for Xero Competition, being 16 years old just 6 days before his first big race with them. Toby has gained some sponsorship but is looking for a little more – visit his web site – www.tobynewton.com for more information. Toby completed his Entry Level course here at SKIDZ in summer 2006.
T enrolled on the 2-year Entry Level Course in September 2005 with a Year 10 group from his school. He was in fact older than his peers but had missed a good deal of school because he is autistic. In spite of these difficulties T settled well into SKIDZ and enjoyed the hands on experience as well as the more academic aspects. In fact he worked so hard that he completed ALL the modules way ahead of his colleagues. The tutors therefore decided to enter him for the exam a year early. T excelled and gained a Distinction much to his delight and that of his tutor. It is very rewarding to see that a young person can overcome such a difficulty and succeed at such a high level. T is now studying at Henley College doing a Foundation Course.
J One huge success story is about John with Aspergers Syndrome as well as being a persistent offender, who came to SKIDZ Banbury in October 2004. J was known to be very challenging and had failed to stick at anything. Initially he came just for 2 mornings, but now attends full time and is quite amazing. He has become a responsible adult in quite a short time and developed his skills in welding and particularly with motor-bike mechanics, where he even outshines the tutors! In addition he has been able to supervise others and help them with their work. He has made a very positive input to the daily life of SKIDZ. On arrival we were told J could not read or write, yet some months down the line, we find he is able to complete the course work modules to a high standard, has completed 5 out of 6 already, and hopefully will do well in the Entry Level final exam. This is the kind of story that makes us all feel good!
A was our top student in 2005-06 scoring 197 out of 200 in the Entry Level exam. He is currently working for Browns Agricultural in Chesham, as a trainee mechanic. We have learned that he is doing very well and has recently passed his driving test.
Browns are very pleased with his progress and plan to send him to college in September on day release to gain his Agricultural Engineering qualifications.
D is just completing his 2-year course at Wycombe in June 2008. His tutor has predicted he will be one of the top scorers in the country and describes him as an excellent student. It was no surprise that he was put forward along with three other SKIDZ students, for consideration by Volvo for an apprenticeship at their dealership in High Wycombe. D excelled in all aspects and was selected by the Volvo assessor for interview, but the Manager of the Dealership was so impressed with the recommendations he accepted D straight away. D is delighted of course, and starts work as soon as he has completed his exams at school. He will be the second SKIDZ student to be chosen by Volvo – we wish him every success in his career.
