Engineers Ireland’s STEPS Programme Expands to Inspire Future Apprentices

Thanks to a new pilot developed by Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme, transition Year students in Kerry have been given the opportunity to experience a new apprentice-style programme with Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd.

The STEPS Engineering Your Future Apprenticeship pilot provides Transition Year students with the opportunity to gain an insight into apprenticeships and receive guidance from working and qualified apprentices at leading organisations. In this first year of the pilot programme, Liebherr Container Cranes in Killarney has joined Combilift in Monaghan to host students on a custom apprenticeship work experience programme.

Engineers Ireland’s STEPS Programme

Twelve students attended the two-day work experience placement at Liebherr Container Cranes where they gained hands-on, practical experience, led by the organisation’s engineering talent. Students were provided with a tour of the Killarney site, including an automated container crane demonstration and got to experience the daily lives of Liebherr apprentices by attending mechanical and electrical engineering apprentice workshops. Students also visited MTU Tralee for a tour and presentation on the Higher Certificate in Engineering Technology, which all Liebherr apprentices complete during their four-year apprenticeship.

Mr Charlie McCarthy, Managing Director – Engineering at Liebherr Container Cranes, said: “At Liebherr, we are proud of our best-in-class apprenticeship programme and the talented engineers that it has developed. Our Apprentice Programme, set up in 1959, is a blend of theoretical and on-the-job learning. We were delighted to elcome local Transition Year students to gain an insight into our organisation and the limitless opportunities our engineering apprenticeships offer.

We have apprentice graduates working in many different roles at Liebherr. I started my own career with Liebherr by completing an apprenticeship here in Killarney. It is our hope that this short work placement may inspire a number of today’s students to actively consider a future career in engineering and an apprenticeship with Liebherr Cranes.”

Dr. Edmond Harty, Vice President of Engineers Ireland, added: “We are pleased to partner with Liebherr Container Cranes and Combilift to pilot the STEPS Engineering Your Future Apprenticeship programme. These innovative and forward-thinking companies are investing in their people of the future by providing Transition Year students with an opportunity to gain some insight into apprenticeship opportunities in their locality.

“Engineering apprentices play an important role in sustaining Ireland’s talented engineering sector, and I hope that each Transition Year student who joined Liebherr’s programme as part of this pilot was inspired by those they met. Apprenticeships offer a real opportunity to develop professional and technical skills and I hope that many of today’s Transition Year students will consider an engineering apprenticeship in the future,” Dr Harty continued.

The STEPS Engineering Your Future Apprenticeship pilot is co-ordinated by Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme – funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and industry leaders Arup, the EPA, ESB, Intel and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).