Inspiring the Next Generation: Derby Academy Students Complete Work Experience at Acres Engineering

At Acres Engineering, we believe that investing in the next generation is one of the most important things we can do as a business. Throughout the year, we welcome several cohorts of work experience students, giving young people the opportunity to experience modern engineering first-hand and discover the exciting career opportunities our industry has to offer.

Rather than spending the week observing from the sidelines, each student followed a carefully planned rotation programme that gave them experience across every major department within the business. Designed by Acres Engineering, the programme was created to provide a genuine insight into how a modern engineering company operates, from receiving materials through to design, manufacture, finishing, assembly and customer support.

Throughout the week the students spent time in Assembly, helping prepare and assemble production equipment while learning the importance of quality, precision and teamwork.

In Fabrication, they shadowed our experienced fabricators, gaining an understanding of welding, machining and the processes involved in transforming raw materials into finished products.

Their time in Prep introduced them to our sheet laser, tube laser and press brake operations, whilst also demonstrating the importance of preparation, organisation and maintaining a safe working environment.

The students also experienced our Paint department, learning about powder coating, stock control and the finishing processes that ensure every product leaves Acres to the highest possible standard.

During their rotation through Goods In and Dispatch, they helped book in materials, prepare kits for production, pack finished products and gain an appreciation of the logistics that keep manufacturing running efficiently.

To complete the week, the students joined our Sales and Design teams, where they were introduced to Computer Aided Design (CAD), explored engineering drawings, developed proposals for activities Acres Engineering could deliver during National Manufacturing Day (NMD26), and produced a Bill of Materials (BOM) from an engineering drawing to support the preparation of a live customer quotation. These activities demonstrated that successful engineering relies not only on manufacturing skills, but also on design, planning, problem-solving and commercial understanding.

Work experience is about far more than learning technical skills. It helps young people develop confidence, communication, teamwork, professionalism and an understanding of workplace expectations. Just as importantly, it allows them to make informed decisions about their future education and career aspirations.

As an employer, we believe work experience should be meaningful. Our aim is not simply to provide students with somewhere to spend a week, but to create an engaging programme that challenges them, builds confidence and showcases the wide range of careers available within engineering and manufacturing.

During the placement, we were pleased to welcome the students’ teacher, Miss Hill, to Acres Engineering. She spent time with the students and team leaders, learning more about the structured programme we had developed and seeing the students fully engaged across the business.

Miss Hill commented that it was one of the best work experience programmes she had seen, praising the thought and planning that had gone into ensuring every student experienced each key department and was given meaningful, hands-on activities throughout the week. Hearing such positive feedback from the school was incredibly rewarding and reinforced our commitment to providing high-quality work experience opportunities.

Placements like these are only possible thanks to the enthusiasm of our team. We would like to thank every member of staff who gave their time to mentor, encourage and inspire the students throughout the week. Their willingness to share their knowledge and experience is what makes Acres Engineering such a fantastic place to learn.

We would also like to thank Derby Academy, and in particular Miss Hill, for working with us to make this placement possible. We are proud of the partnership we have developed and look forward to welcoming many more students through our doors in the future.

We wish Jasjot, Arunveer, Abdul and Pavel every success as they continue their education. We hope they leave Acres Engineering with new skills, greater confidence and a lasting appreciation of the exciting opportunities that a career in engineering and manufacturing can offer.

Today’s work experience students are tomorrow’s engineers, designers, technicians and business leaders. We are proud to play a small part in helping them take that first step.

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Acres have a range of standard products but also support clients with custom machinery and medium-high volume products such as trolleys, stillages etc. 

We have manufactured lots of different tables / workstations / workbenches for various industries.

We also manufacture access platforms, jigs and fixtures and many other types of production support solutions / products. 

Talk to us today about your requirements: Sales@Acres.Engineering / 01332695240 / Contact Us Form

 

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Want to know more about Acres Engineering?

We are based in the UK from our Headquarters in Derbyshire, England and have a European office in Malaga, Spain within the EU.

 

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