62 | Helping build a base of skilled engineers Andrew Geddes: “We are trying to promote our trade to the students to let them know what it is and what we do.” Machine Craft T T Russell Fredric ENGINEERING During the past 17 years, Timaru business Machine Craft has established its reputation on delivering highly customised components and equipment to customers in New Zealand and beyond. As a niche business, Machine Craft offers precision engineering, high speed computerised CNC machining, component manufacturing, and repairs and maintenance supported by a staff of three. Its workshop is equipped with five CNC lathes of various sizes, two CNC mills for five axis positional machining, three CNC lathes with bar feeder, two manual lathes, surface grinders and spark eroders - a type of precision cut-out/machining tool. This equipment provides considerable capacity for both the specialised and general work Machine Craft is capable of, but managing director Andrew Geddes says recruiting either qualified staff or apprentices has been a major challenge over the years. This has been contributed to by the education system favouring university qualifications and major trades. Consequently, the majority of students are unaware that machining, fitting, turning are worthwhile career options, Andrew says. “They know what a diesel mechanic is, an electrician and a builder. They haven’t a clue what a fitter-machinist or even a fitter-welder does.” This situation has led Andrew to collaborate with Hanga Aro Rau, Workplace Development Council, which represents the manufacturing, engineering and logistics industries which altogether comprises 650,000 employees and 105,000 businesses. Andrew’s involvement with the organisation includes helping develop how apprentices are taught, networking with others in the industry and to encourage the promotion of engineering as a career option in schools. “The whole high school education leans toward academia; the people teaching the students are academics. We’ve found the teachers would consider the trades the poor second cousin to going to university.” “We are trying to promote [our trade] to the students to let them know what it is and what we do, and further to that they’ll earn more money. Straight away they’re earning on the job, the employer’s paying for their education and this is where Hanga-Aro-Rau come in. They’re promoting this idea as well. Their management team is doing a fantastic job of pushing that point over and over into all the different schools.” Andrew has observed people who have done well in the mechanical and engineering sectors who were “never going to university” but learnt and matured over time and are very capable, bright people that were not academics in their earlier years. Andrew points out that the engineering trades are no longer purely manual and involve computer design and 3D models that are downloaded to a computer-driven CNC machine. Andrew has previously trained three adult apprentices who had been in other trades because he could not find any students straight out of school that were interested, however through his involvement in Hanga-Aro-Rau he intends the next apprentice to be a school leaver. Machine Craft’s niche specialising in research and development prototypes is proving an asset during what Andrew describes as a very quiet time for some engineering businesses. Known in Timaru as the go-to jobbing precision machine shop as well as for general work, Machine Craft has completed projects for clients as far away as Perth, Australia, through by word-of-mouth referrals.
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