The Ibec engineering network group’s ambition is for Ireland to become a thriving and dynamic engineering industry hub where indigenous Irish firms and multinational companies collaborate for mutual benefit.
The network supports the business needs of the engineering industry in Ireland, which comprises more than 1,200 companies including about 170 multinationals across a variety of subsectors including automotive, aerospace, information and communications technology, biomedical, energy and environmental, construction, and agricultural machinery and equipment, while the subsupply segment also includes paper and printing as well as basic and fabricated metals.
“The sector accounted for €7 billion worth of exports in 2016 and employs 40,000 people,” says Ibec head of engineering Pauline O’Flanagan. “It’s a very strong and vibrant industry which makes an important and growing contribution the Irish economy.”
The network model adopted by Ibec enables engineering members to gain access to knowledge, the latest industry foresight, tailored seminars with leading experts and opportunities to network with other businesses.
“Our work programme focuses on key issues identified by the sector,” says O’Flanagan. “Our members’ concerns range from business development, upskilling, attracting talent, regulation, manufacturing excellence, energy costs to growing their market share of the global economy. We manage forums to help members connect and update them on key business issues as well as update them on the critical work that Ibec is doing on their behalf.”
Apprenticeships
Training and people skills are important issues for members in an ever-tightening labour market. The network works closely with universities and institutes of technologies on this but the industrial also requires skilled tradespeople as well. “We have developed a manufacturing technician apprenticeship along with the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology,” she says. “These apprenticeships are suitable for a hugely diverse manufacturing environment including medtech, polymers, pharmaceuticals, food, machinery and ICT.”
This was one of the first apprenticeships to be approved under the new apprenticeship model launched in 2016. “Apprenticeships offer a very important pathway to a career in the industry and allow people to earn while they learn,” Flanagan says.
Ibec has also worked with the institutes of technology on the development of higher certificate and degree programmes in manufacturing engineering. The bachelor of engineering in manufacturing engineering is a three-year, level-seven programme which trains students in the core areas of mechatronics, robotics, production plant, power systems, engineering design, manufacturing technology, operations and quality management.
The fact that apprenticeships, higher certificates and degrees are now part of the same qualifications structure is very important, according to O’Flanagan. “The new grading structure is very good,” she adds.
She also welcomes the increased emphasis on maths at second level. “We obviously need honours maths students as well,” she says. “The awarding of up to 25 additional points for Leaving Cert maths is working. The numbers taking higher maths in the Leaving has doubled since 2012 and we have seen an increase in the numbers achieving H1s as well.”
Another challenge facing the sector is Brexit. “There is no doubt that Brexit will be challenging,” she says. “The indigenous sector is most exposed but the whole sector will be affected to one extent or another. Our focus for all our members, both indigenous firms and multinationals, is on innovation to improve productivity and efficiency. We are encouraging members to invest in innovation and to keep working on areas like Lean to achieve efficiency gains.”
Best practice
The network has a Lean and advanced manufacturing group to promote best practice to member firms. “A lot of large companies have embraced Lean and advanced manufacturing technologies, but this is not the case with many smaller firms,” O’Flanagan says. “Engineering firms need to have a continuous focus on operational excellence and getting costs down to remain competitors. We are helping members with that as well as assisting them to move forward in areas such as automation and digitalisation.
Again, some firms have progressed further when it comes to automation. “Some engineering companies can be quite traditional and other can be very innovative and advanced,” she says. “They are at different stages of progression along the value chain. But we have fantastic entrepreneurial capability and very strong innovation capacity in this country, and they will be the key success factors for the future.”
At a practical level the network provides training for members in advanced manufacturing practices and organises workshops and seminars to look at best practice at home and abroad. She points to additive manufacturing or 3D printing as an example. “This is going to be huge and we have been engaging with the IMR research centre on that and have organised training programmes on additive manufacturing for our members.”
But it’s not always about new processes and technologies. People are at the very heart of the industry. “We continue to focus on training and education,” O’Flanagan says. “We have a gender leadership group which aims to get more women into the industry and, more importantly, to get them into leadership roles.”