HND Engineering students at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) got to hear about life after college when alumnus Daniel Joynson visited the Bangor campus.
Daniel, from Bangor, completed his HND Engineering last June and is now a workshop engineer at Saw Tech Ireland.
He was accompanied by manager Eoghan McGlynn. The pair delivered a presentation on the Saw Tech Ireland operation and brought along a number of products to demonstrate what they do on a day-to-day basis.
Daniel and Eoghan also fielded questions from students during the session, mostly around the technical aspect of the company and how it runs.
Aine McGreeghan, lecturer in Mechanical Design, said: “It was a very lively session with lots of questions.
“The students enjoyed hearing about Daniel’s job and his usual daily activities at work.
“They were surprised to learn that as well as sharpening tools Daniel has learned and developed many new practical skills such as brazing, operating a computerised numerical control (CNC) tool grinder, drawing up and manufacturing custom cutting tools for cabinet building.”
She added: “It was a great opportunity for the students to hear how their engineering skills could be applied in a smaller workshop environment, skills such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), practical skills, process improvement and quality management.
“They also got a real insight into how transferable skills and organisational fit are as important as technical skills.”
Aine concluded: “The students found the visit very informative, particularly hearing how important traits such as teamwork and flexibility are in a small organisation with all employees chipping in to help each other out.
“It has certainly encouraged them to broaden their searches and not overlook smaller organisations.
“The day-to-day variety really appealed to a number of students in the class.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
