Dan McNish tells Kevin Donald about the vital apprenticeships cog in the Cummins engine.
When a young Dan McNish was first introduced to the world of engineering through a fascination for aeroplanes at the age of 13, it ‘lit something up’ in him which has endured through his career.
Now McNish, mechanical systems manager within Cummins Darlington’s European Technical Organisation (ETO), is looking to pass on that inspiration to the next generation of engineers.
The future of the industry in the North East is in good health, he says, with a steady stream of eager students – both male and female – coming through the region’s schools and colleges.
A series of STEM events (STEMFest Newcastle, Destination STEM Hopetown) are being held across the North East to further encourage youngsters to pursue a career incorporating core skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
And McNish, who already has a varied career profile at the age of 34, plays a key part in delivering these events for Cummins.
He believes the two and three-day events, which can attract as many as 3,000 youngsters, play a crucial part in opening young minds to the power of possibility.
STEMFest brings together students, educators, professionals, and enthusiasts through interactive workshops, presentations, exhibitions and competitions.
The aim is to guide the next generation towards a career in cutting-edge innovations by connecting with industry experts and like-minded peers.
Bringing on new talent is a key part of McNish’s role within Cummins. He told BUSINESSiQ: ‘I lead a team of engineers and technicians supporting new product development and dealing with current product issues.
‘My mechanical systems team’s function is to simulate and test engine performance.
‘“But I also co-lead the ETO Technical Apprenticeship Scheme, which I have done for about two and a half years.
‘In the ETO we have around 17 technical apprentices that myself and a colleague lead. We do have more apprentices than that on site, but they fall within different groups.
‘The technical apprentices complete a Level 4 scheme, which is aligned to the engineering and manufacturing technician standard, and we work with New College Durham as our academic provider for the apprenticeship.’
He says there is a ‘massive’ appetite for the apprenticeships the Darlington facility can offer.
McNish says: ‘In terms of the number of available positions we have for our Level 4 technical apprenticeship scheme, we typically take on three to four each year. But through that recruitment process, we’re literally seeing scenarios where you’re getting some 200 to 300 applicants, so it’s highly competitive.
‘Another highlight this year has been to a start a degree apprenticeship route into the business. We have recently taken two Level 6 apprentices in engineering and digital positions.’
‘There’s clearly a massive clamour from primarily young people, but we see people applying of all ages. We’ve got one individual who’s recently finished her apprenticeship with us and is in her 30s, so it’s not just people straight out of school or college that are seeing the opportunities an apprenticeship presents.’
As if to illustrate the point he reveals he’s taken on a fresh apprenticeship himself.
He says: ‘I’m doing a level 7 apprenticeship myself, actually, at Durham University, it’s a senior leader apprenticeship. It shows it’s good to get into a business that will continue to support your development.”
The tide is slowly turning in engineering with more women and girls pursuing STEM-related careers – which is around a million across the UK at the last count. Last year research by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) showed that women are not encouraged to think about STEM careers in school (according to 45% of those surveyed) and a third are put off by how male dominated the industry is.
Nearly a quarter of UK adults think there needs to be more encouragement from when girls are young for them to pursue a career in STEM and a third of people working in STEM believe that not enough progress has been made in reducing gender-based discrimination in the workplace.
Fewer than half (48%) think it is possible to achieve gender diversity in STEM careers and only 8% could name any women who have made significant contributions to STEM fields.
So are there challenges in encouraging girls and young women that they have a place at Cummins?
McNish says: ‘If I look at the level 4 technical apprenticeship that I lead, we have four women, which is around 20%, so that places us probably a little above the national average in terms of getting women in engineering.
‘But there’s certainly more work to do around that. You want to see real diversity in the workplace and that’s not just looking at gender ratios it’s looking at all dimensions of diversity.
‘It matters because, the more diverse the perspectives that you get, it should mean you reach a better solution and ultimately offer a better product.
‘Cummins is really trying to get towards an ideal scenario which would be 50/50 male/female split, but there are obviously challenges in achieving that. You can point to a lack of role models, certain perceptions and stereotypes of engineering that continue to exist.
‘I think Cummins is doing a pretty good job of trying to improve some of those perceptions through things like our Women’s Empowerment Network. We try to bring schoolgirls into the business to show them what engineering looks like, and get them speaking to engineers and technicians and to see all different roles in the business. The hope is to give young people role models and show it’s not just a male-dominated job.’
Cummins has been a headline sponsor of a number of STEMFest events, delivered around the North East and North Yorks by business consultancy RTC North.
The event has already given thousands of kids the chance, for example, to pilot a British Airways flight simulator or drive a virtual buggy across the surface of Mars.
It’s the sort of event that could trigger the imagination of a teenager who might otherwise never have dreamt of a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
Someone, in fact, not unlike Dan McNish, who recalls his own early path into engineering.
He says: ‘My dad is a retired joiner and my mam works in the post office as a counter clerk. I really didn’t have much exposure to engineering. I was always quite fascinated by aircraft and being from Sunderland I would go to the Sunderland Air Show each year with my grandad. I had a particular interest in aircraft flown by the RAF, the Harrier, the Tornado, the Hercules etc, and doing a bit of research I learnt that these aircraft were all powered by Rolls Royce engines. And that’s how my interest came in engineering.
‘But I didn’t have much exposure to it at all, I’d probably say absolutely zero in the school environment. So for me, it’s trying to give back a little bit. And I can see how, if you provide these opportunities to children, it just gives them exposure to a potential career path that they wouldn’t have known exists.’
The deal was sealed on a visit to the old Rolls Royce plant in Pallion Sunderland, which opened its doors to the public for its 100th anniversary in 2004.
He says: ‘To me it felt like: “yes, this is exactly what I want to do, I want to go into engineering”.
‘I will have been 13 at that point and it really lit a fire in me. Now I want to give young people the opportunity to have a similar experience to me.’
He went on to do a five-year Master’s in mechanical engineering at Newcastle University, which included a year’s placement with Rolls Royce.
His first role after university was with Komatsu in Birtley where he did a graduate scheme, before becoming a design engineer. From there he returned to Rolls Royce at their site in Solihull, working on control systems for reactors on the Dreadnought programme, which will replace the Vanguard class of submarine carrying Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
He then returned to the North East, joining Cummins in 2018. McNish continues to work closely with others on career development, and not just through apprenticeships.
He said: ‘In terms of bringing individuals into the business, the apprenticeship route is just one we use. We also offer work experience opportunities, placements for university students, graduate roles and direct entry positions.
‘Once individuals are in the business we continue to offer development pathways to further upskill our employees – the Level 7 senior leader apprenticeship that I am doing is a good example.
‘I also have four past apprentices that recently completed the Level 4 Technical Apprenticeship that are now starting a Level 6 Engineering Degree Apprenticeship at Newcastle University.
‘We also have other individuals who are doing HNCs/HNDs in various disciplines including engineering and operations management.’
He says it is vital for students in school to have the chance to forge links with industry to give them a practical perspective on why the subjects they’re learning are important.
The Gatsby Benchmarks, he believes, are a vital component in preparing a child for the world of work. The eight stage framework was introduced in almost 5,000 English schools in 2018 and was updated last year to put future careers at the heart of learning.
The aim is to make sure kids leave school with a solid knowledge of what to expect in the workplace.
McNish says: ‘I think the biggest challenge we have is how the students can link the things they are learning in school to industry. This is why it is important that we bring students on site into Cummins.
‘It is so important for them to get involved in extracurricular activities or projects to apply some of that learning that they do day to day in an industry context.
‘I remember creating graphs in maths classes and thinking “what is the point in this?” and that’s why links with business are vital to show the kids why they need these skills.
‘For instance, I look back now to studying poetry for my GCSE English exams and thinking “I’m never going to be a poet, why am I learning these things?”
‘But actually, 15 to 20 years down the road that learning allows me to critically analyse text and write technical reports. It is actually applicable
to what I do now in engineering, but at face value you would not make that link.’
Cummins remains one of Darlington’s biggest employers and is a preferred destination for many jobseeking school leavers.
Its campus in the town employs around 1,750 people in manufacturing, technical, testing, and business support roles.
In July it opened a £13m powertrain test facility to enable development and testing of technologies across platforms including hydrogen.
The 8,000 sq ft facility is a key part of Cummins’ Destination Zero strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas and air quality impacts of its products
Tees Valley Combined Authority Mayor Ben Houchen hailed the company for helping to make ‘the next generation of clean power come to life’.
McNish said the diversity of jobs within its walls are often underestimated.
He says: ‘There are so many different paths you can go down in an engineering. People often have this stereotypical view that it’s purely a mechanical job that leaves you covered
in engine oil.
‘Those parts exist of course, but it’s a diverse job. You might be interested in coding and could go down that route. There are opportunities to be creative in design, or you may enjoy project management. These are desk-based roles in a modern office environment.
‘There are opportunities to run software that simulates how an engine might function. It is a job where lots of opportunities exist.
‘There’s also a great chance for travel. My Experimental team for example have been out to France numerous times in recent months. They’ve previously been to Germany, Scandinavia and we’ve even had people in South Korea supporting test work.’
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A local amateur theatre group approached the company to ask whether it could produce a replica of Stephenson’s Locomotion Number One, which ran on the Darlington to Stockton railway in 1825.
The thespians’ tall order was for a production to mark the railway’s 200th anniversary and the Cummins apprentices put their acquired know-how to work.
McNish laughed: ‘It was an unusual request to say the least but they really rose to the challenge. Some of my second and third year apprentices built it with minimal guidance from me or anyone else. It was a really remarkable effort. Sometimes all people need is an opportunity and if they’re given that they’re capable of doing pretty much anything.’
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