Joe Greatbanks and Adam Harris – Case Study

Mettler Toledo

mettlerIn the summer of 2013 Mettler Toledo Safeline in Salford and Mettler Toledo Garvens based in Hanover, Germany, launched the ISTEP program for our apprentices.

ISTEP stands for the International Student Exchange Program. This annual program saw two apprentices from Mettler Toledo Garvens spend two weeks in July living in the UK while working with two of our apprentices in Salford. Once their placement was completed the two apprentices from Mettler Toledo Safeline travelled in the opposite direction to spend two weeks in August working with their respective apprentices in Hanover. The aim of the program was to provide our apprentices with an opportunity to spend some quality time in another product inspection business unit who manufacture different types of products to us.

Our current apprentices are studying electronic and mechanical engineering and learning how to build the metal detection systems we manufacture. The ISTEP program provides them with the chance, in their 3rd year of study, to develop further skills working with the checkweigher, which is another range of electronic and mechanical product inspection equipment manufactured by Mettler Toledo Garvens. The placement in Germany lasted for 2 weeks, and gave our apprentices the invaluable experience of working in another environment and culture, and to see different ways of approaching and organising their workloads, whilst sharing best practice with the apprentices from Mettler Toledo Garvens.

In addition to providing a wider learning experience for our apprentices it also helps us to build stronger links with our colleagues in Germany as we now work together to build a combi-checkweigher which combines a metal detector and check weighing machine into one system. Our first apprentices to experience the program were Joe Greatbanks and Adam Harris, who were buddied up with Lars Brombosch and Marcus Eggers from Mettler Toledo Garvens.

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STEGTA Apprentice Joe Greatbanks working on the product in Germany

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STEGTA Apprentice Adam Harris got the chance to attend a Borussia Dortmund football game at Westfalenstadion with the German Apprentices during his leisure time.