Working together, staying apart
Success Stories: Skillnet
The Company
Skillnet is recognised as an “outstanding” training provider, which has been delivering training in a range of disciplines for over 20 years. The training provider delivers the engineering apprenticeship programme for the Ford motor company on CEME Campus in Rainham, East London. Skillnet utilises the shared engineering spaces at CEME to teach skills in mechanical engineering for a class of budding young engineers.
The Challenge
In the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 in the UK, government guidelines meant that organisations across the country had to send their staff to work from home. Many businesses were affected, including Skillnet, who had to pause their apprenticeship training on Campus.
As the UK lock-down eased, new measures were implemented across the UK to reduce the infection rates of the new Coronavirus. In order to bring the apprentices back to the lathes, mills and classrooms, Skillnet had to ensure that all of the apprentices kept 2 metres apart at all times. Skillnet came to CEME for help…
The Solution
Being on a purpose-built and spacious training campus CEME was already well set up to be able to roll out social distancing measures on site. The campus offers 600 parking spaces on its 19 acre site, which means that staff, trainees and visitors could arrive without needing to utilise public transport.
A Skillnet tutor tests the temperature of an apprentice as they arrive on site.
From March, CEME worked to make sure that the campus would be ready for customers to return at any point. Following government guidelines, CEME installed brand new hygiene stations as well as implemented one-way systems and other social distancing measures across the whole of campus. It was important to CEME to exceed our customers’ expectations in terms of health and safety during a difficult time.
CEME worked with Skillnet and Ford directly to roll out further measures in the shared engineering spaces. This included adding further one-way systems and even installing a “social-distance-friendly” break out space in the CEME motor bays area (pictured.) This space has been created to allow the apprentices to continue to socialise, but in a safer way.
CEME welcomes back the Ford apprentices in their new safe working environment on Monday the 1st of June 2020.
Each apprentice has been allocated a 2 metre break-out space, allowing them to socialise at distance