Two apprentice engineers from the Isle of Man were among the winners at the recent North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) New Talent Awards which recognise and reward the achievements of young apprentices and graduates from the North West region’s aerospace and defence industry.

Luke McKinley from RLC Ronaldsway won The Innovation Award which recognised innovative thinking and outstanding engineering skills that have brought successful change to the business. Luke’s project enabled the company to recycle coolant from swarf skips and bins.

Jack Hunter from Swagelok gained a commendation for establishing a project to teach school children about engineering through motive power.

The Department’s Political Member with responsibility for Manufacturing Leonard Singer MHK said:

‘I’d like to congratulate both Luke and Jack on their awards which not only reflect their hard work and innovative thinking but also the quality of their employers and the Island’s precision manufacturing sector in general. The Government has made significant investments in training and skills development within engineering and the future of the industry here is looking very healthy.’

David Bailey, Chief Executive Officer at NWAA, said:

‘The New Talent Awards has become a key event for the North West’s Aerospace and Defence Sector. It is hugely important to our industry that we increase the numbers of talented young people into apprenticeships to plug the skills gap that threatens our ability to achieve the growth the aerospace market is experiencing.’

Both Luke and Jack have come through the Isle of Man Manufacturing sector’s apprenticeship scheme. 36 new students are required to join the Foundation Apprenticeship in Engineering programme in September 2015 and further details and an application form can be found at www.iomcollege.ac.im.

Photo - The two local winners Luke McKinlay (RLC Ronaldsway) and Jack Hunter (Swagelok).