David Hurst, Manufacturing Director
Fairline Boats
Championing the marine sector skills
agreement
Fairline Boats is a key player in the growing UK leisure boat
manufacturing sector. Employing 1,200 employees in Oundle and
Corby, Northamptonshire, the company has an annual turnover of £120
million, exports 85% of its products and enjoys a growth rate of
8-10% per annum. The company is a member of the British Marine
Federation and actively contributes to Semta’s marine Sector
Strategy Group.
With a strong automotive background, David Hurst joined the
company as Manufacturing Director in 2004 and has experienced the
major impact the Marine Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) has had on
Fairline’s business. “Being involved in the process has opened our
eyes, influenced our thinking and helped clarify things,” he says.
Developed by marine sector employers for the marine sector and
brokered by Semta, the SSA identifies the workforce skills needs of
the sector and how these skills will be delivered. Focussing on the
Agreement has led the company to put in place an effective training
system for young people, develop a process for upskilling and
improve performance through business leadership.
Apprentice training
“The Sector Skills Agreement was key to unlocking
apprenticeships in our company,” David explains. “Previously we
weren’t using an appropriate qualification and were disappointed
with the output. Discovering NVQs which had been written
specifically for the marine sector enabled us to take the
qualifications to our local college where lecturers understood them
and could deliver them to our apprentices.” As a result Fairline
has increased its annual apprentice intake from two or three to
ten. In addition to aiding the company’s growth, the move has been
a great morale booster and won union support. A new venture in
seeking volunteers to mentor apprentices met with a huge response
and provides an additional development opportunity for existing
employees. “Apart from securing our skills base for the future,
taking on apprentices sends out a message to employees that the
management believes in its future,” says David, “It puts a more
human face on the business, demonstrating our growing belief in
people and the important contribution they make.” When the company
recently advertised for apprentices it attracted around 150
applicants, 40% of them children of employees – a massive vote of
confidence in the company.
Upskilling
Many members of Fairline’s workforce are long-serving employees
who left school with no qualifications. Now, for the first time,
Fairline is helping them achieve a relevant qualification. Taking
the SSA as a frame of reference, the company is offering its 200
moulders the chance of gaining EAL’s Level 2 NVQ in Marine
Engineering, in partnership with local provider, Tresham Institute
of Further and Higher Education. Working initially with a pilot
group, college staff have developed an in-company programme to
enable employees to meet the NVQ requirements, and visit the
workplace to carry out observation and assessment. The programme is
being extended to further cohorts. “Employees have shown a high
level of interest,” David comments. “It’s good for morale, good for
the company and fits in with the Government’s aims to increase the
number of people qualified to Level 2.”
Lean leadership
Fairline is taking an innovative approach to tackling two of the
key priorities identified in the SSA: the need to improve
productivity and competitiveness, and to develop management and
leadership skills. In a strategic move to embed lean practices
through improved leadership, the company has restructured the
business into small sections and is training all 120 section
leaders in business improvement techniques. Specialists sourced via
the company’s partnership with Tresham Institute are delivering
EAL’s Level 2 Business-Improvement Techniques NVQ to groups across
the company to ensure consistency of provision in increasing the
skills and knowledge base. The programme represents an investment
of £600,000-700,000 over two-three years and has received a
financial contribution from a special fund via Semta.
David is leading the lean implementation process, backed by the
full commitment of the board. “We’re passionate about rolling out
lean - not just in the manufacturing areas but in the sales office,
the R&D department and in the facilities function. Lean
techniques can be applied in any part of an organisation,” he says.
“It’s part of a cultural change process that has to start from the
top to ensure success.”
David believes that other companies in Semta’s footprint should
embrace the Sector Skills Agreement relevant to them for the
benefit of the whole sector. Explaining how it has helped his
company, he says: “As a company we know where we’re going. The SSA
matches Fairline’s aspirations and has given us a structure and
context in which to move forward. In what can often appear as an
overly-complicated skills system, it provides a relatively simple
road map to follow, helping us to understand how things fit
together.”
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