TWI Annual Review - July 2008
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Investing in our people
Our commitment
To maintain technical excellence and key expertise in advanced engineering, TWI is committed to developing staff through the achievement of skills, knowledge and qualifications, to support the provision of high-quality services to our Members and customers.
Qualifications and professional development
- 84% of Technology Group staff are qualified to degree level or higher
- 63% of Technology Group staff are qualified to post-graduate level
- 54% of total workforce are qualified to degree level or higher
- 27% of all staff are members of The Welding Institute
- At least 32% of all staff are members of other professional institutes
- At least 61% of Technology Group staff are Chartered Engineers or Scientists
Career and Personal Development
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The Corporate Training Plan delivers over 40 course subjects annually, including:
- Comprehensive induction and orientation of new staff
- A Graduate Development Programme of 10 courses over three years
- An intensive Management and Leadership Development Programme
- A comprehensive range of Health and Safety training modules
- Specific skills training eg IT
- Personal skills development eg Influencing
- Language tuition for a global business
- Further education study to degree and postgraduate qualification
- 69 courses were run in-house in 2007, comprising 743 training days (average two days per head)
- 289 staff attended at least one in-house course and 72 attended external courses during the year
- 18 staff are undergoing further education qualifications supported by TWI
- There were 49 internal staff promotions in 2007, representing 12% of staff
Organisational infrastructure
- Competence-based recruitment, including annual Graduate Recruitment scheme
- Annual appraisal of staff competencies and identification of individual training and development needs
- Peer review of core research reports
- Range of Staff and Member Awards for outstanding technical achievement
- Technology Fellow appointments annually in recognition of external technical reputation
- Internal audit of staff satisfaction and external accreditation to Investors in People standard
- Quality and Environment external accreditation to ISO 9001 and 14001 standards
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Staff Profiles
Ian Froment
'TWI has provided me with a varied and rewarding career, with many opportunities to work with a wide range of interesting projects, people and industries. It has also given me the chance to develop managerial skills'. |
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Lois Appleyard Lois began her working career as a car mechanic embarking on a four year apprenticeship and qualifying with City & Guilds, BTEC and The Institute of the Motor Industry IMI certificates. She later changed her career path by taking a BA in English and History. She then studied for an extra two years to gain an MA to work within the educational publishing sector. She joined The Welding Institute in March 2007 as Manager of the Professional Membership Department having previously worked for the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. 'I knew of the high reputation held by The Welding Institute and TWI and moving here was too good an opportunity to miss. The challenge of taking a professional body forward into the 21st century is both worthwhile and rewarding'. |
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Chris Ablitt Chris joined TWI in 2002 as a Project Leader within the Structural Integrity Group. Since then he has been working in the area of asset integrity management and is now the Section Manager of TWI's new Asset Integrity Management section. He is responsible for all asset management activities within TWI and undertakes a variety of structural integrity and risk-based assessment projects in the oil, gas and petrochemical and power industries. "I visited TWI when I was still at university and knew that was where I wanted to work. TWI has given me the opportunity to learn and explore new technologies and I'm always amazed at the exciting variety of engineering work to which we're exposed". |
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Gill Taylor Gill joined TWI as a Project Leader in Microjoining having attained a degree in Physics/Applied Physics. Following a career break to bring up two children she rejoined the company to work in the QA department, becoming Manager in 2007. 'My role necessitates involvement in all aspects of TWI's business and experience as a Project Leader in the past has helped greatly in this. Throughout my career here, I have found that the training and support I have received when required has enhanced my professional development'. |