Exam success for KMF’s apprentices

Having taken the decision four years ago to bring all apprentice training in-house, the Newcastle-under-Lyme based firm is now reaping the rewards. Having sat their external examinations the company's first and third year apprentices have all passed with flying colours, achieving results that exceed the national average. Particular praise went to Joe Pemberton who achieved 95% in his first year exams, a result that marks him down as one of the best apprentices in the country. This success was also reflected in the results of the second year apprentices who sat internal exams. KMF training centre manager Jenny Conlon said: "We are extremely pleased with the results achieved by all of our apprentices as they give us real confidence that the investment we have made in bringing training in-house, and the investment that KMF made in its training centre, along with the help we have received from Semta, is really paying dividends in delivering top quality engineers for the future of the business." To support the future development of its apprentice training scheme KMF has also announced a further expansion of its training facilities. A 3000ft2 area of the current manufacturing facility is being converted into a dedicated area for apprentice training, with some £25,000 being used to purchase machine tool technology, including a Trumpf Minimatic punching machine and a lathe. "This will be added to over time with plans already in place to add five-axis bending technology to this area making it the most advanced training facility of its kind in the UK," added Conlon. Pictured: KMFs first and third year apprentices are joined by their second and fourth year colleagues.