The skills and training offered by Teesside University are helping a Newton Aycliffe engineering company keep its workforce on track for success.
A steady stream of employees at Sabre Rail, based on Aycliffe Business Park, have either graduated from or are in the process of completing qualifications at the university.
Sabre Rail, which also has offices in Australia, manufactures and overhauls components for trains and the rail industry.
The company believes that the university, which has designed qualifications to meet the demands of the industry and provide a flexible approach to learning, has helped its workforce keep abreast of changes in the sector.
Sabre Rail’s links with the university range from work placements as part of a sandwich year, to part-time degrees and postgraduate qualifications.
Carl Holmstrom, a compliance engineer at the company, completed a BEng (Hons) in mechanical engineering and was employed by Sabre Rail while on a graduate placement.
Carl said: “I have been able to demonstrate my engineering knowledge gained through university in an interesting and varied working environment.”
Jason McNulty, is working at Sabre Rail as part of a work placement for his BEng (Hons) mechanical engineering.
He said: “It has given me a real insight into how engineering companies operate and I am able to utilise what I am learning in the syllabus and put it into practice.”
Stephen Thompson, the chief executive of Sabre Rail, said: “Our relationship with Teesside University has been extremely positive. Having an institution like the University, which responds to our needs, has really helped us develop the expertise within the company.
“We have also found that having graduates from the University who have been on sandwich courses has really helped us, as it means they are ready to come in and start working straightaway which is beneficial both to the graduates and to us.”
Professor Farhad Nabhani, professor of biomechanics and manufacturing in the School of Science & Engineering, said: “At Teesside University we pride ourselves on our ability to respond to industry demand and the fact that so many of our past or current students are working here is absolutely fantastic.
“It is great that we have been able to cater for Sabre Rail’s needs and allow the company to grow and prosper.”