Joe Higgins Completing Hands on Work Experience with MDS

Joe is in his first year of an Electrical Engineering Course at Bury College near Manchester. As part of his course he is able to do a weekly placement where he can receive some hands-on work experience to increase his knowledge and expertise as he completes his studies. Joe has chosen MDS because he is guaranteed one-on-one time with experienced engineers, as well as the opportunity to complete a variety of tasks throughout his time here, with the added responsibility of completing tasks on his own once proper training has been completed.

While Joe is with MDS the service team hope to get him involved in as much of the business as possible so that he gets a thorough understanding of MDS. Tasks he will complete include:

  • Visit to site with an engineer to assist with equipment validation
  • Complete MDS metal detection training
  • Sit in on external training with customers
  • Learn how to do in house repairs
  • Create a monthly blog of what he has been up to at MDS
  • Visit the CEIA headquarters to see how each metal detector is manufactured

MDS work predominantly within the food industry where in some locations the skills gap is very apparent. Due to this MDS are keen supporters of all initiatives that encourage young people into engineering. According to VHR in “Q4 2017, 22% of engineering businesses listed skills shortages as their most important business challenge in the coming years.” MDS is a small company with just 12 staff total, including the office team, which means that opportunities to add additional engineers in the future is limited, however, MDS are keen to do as much as possible to help.

Follow MDS’s social media to keep up to date with what Joe is getting up to during his time here @MDSCEIA