When I first started a Rolls-Royce there was some dispute going on with hourly-paid staff. So, RR shut the whole Filton plant down. About 4 of us had been taken on from Swindon College. All we had to do was to drive down every Thursday and go to one of the canteens to collect our pay (this was in the days of cash). On the way out hourly-paid union reps would be collecting money in a bucket for striking staff. They always got about 40/50 quid from us with a "keep it up lads!". The deal was to be helped to do an HND at Swindon College whilst working for RR for 6 weeks in the Summer (minimum, you could do more) and then you would get four weeks paid holiday per year! So, in the first Summer, I think I worked for one or two weeks and still got all the benefits! And you used to get paid throughout the year for bank holidays and the day after! I was a rich student on a Ducati! After a year of doing an HND, I decided that I would do a degree in Mechanical Engineering instead of an HND. Rolls even agreed to sponsor me for that on the same terms! Madness!
Couldn't agree more! Kids coming out of Uni with nothing better than icon-clicking skills.... As for the IMechE thing....give me strength! It's seen as just a follow-on to a degree - seemingly nothing to do with ability & experience. Grrrrr.
Dunno what it's like now but as a graduate/undergrad trainee you had to go round various departments to qualify as an "Engineering Technologists". One placement that I remember was in a machine shop. I was tasked with making a perfect 1" cube from a bit of mild steel - no way would they let us work on real engine parts. I made it and a supervisor came to check it it. He declared it shit and threw it on the floor and kicked it under the bench. Upset, I went to retrieve it from under the bench to finish it. I got down on my knees to look for it. Under the bench was crammed with freshly milled cubes! I may of mentioned this one before. On a stint on the engine test beds, I was delegated to go an buy a chicken from Carrefour to fire at the engine for one of its airworthiness test. I bought a frozen chicken rather that a fresh one! That got me another bollocking as well!
And pretending not to run. Everywhere at RR - like many other places, I guess - running was strictly prohibited on site. So, at going home time everybody would walk as fast as poss without breaking into a run. Then once outside, it was the Olympics!
Rolls Royce Derby? I was there too. 1970 - 1978. DO Apprentice, then the last 41/2 years on Moor Lane in the Detail Office (D.O. on E2). Edit:...just seen not Derby.
Nah, military engines at Filton, Bristol. I think that I only went to Derby once but visited Leavesden (helicopter engines) many times. I think that Leavesden has closed down and is now a Harry Potter experience or summit! Dunno where helicopter engines are made now - if they still make any.
Less popular apprentices had their enamel tea mugs araldited to their benches over night, and one particularly tight one had a couple of 50p pieces araldited to the floor around his workspace, endless amusement as we watched him trying to pick them up
Our apprentice ( my oppo and i ) initiation day had arrived, Colin dived into the bogs and was captured, bastards used swarfega/ sawdust and head down the bog........ i managed to shin up a steel girder and cross onto a steel roof truss and sat what seemed to be for an eternity. Lucky for me the Manager (aka the "Bloke") entered the Machine shop saw what was going on and got me a reprieve. I still got Faux duffed up by the two Tag Wrestlers who used to go through the Rag bins and dress up in what seemed suitable at the time and would somehow avoid the chargehand and reek havoc on the shopfloor.
I guess we should add "humiliation, bullying and cruelty" to our list. Sadly I don't think they've gone tho'...
My late Father was in the design office of a marine and rail diesel engine manufacturer. If one of his drawings was wrong he would be summoned to the shop floor to meet the Forman and Manager at machine with the problem. Drawing office could be seen by whole shop floor. He had to walk from drawing office, the full length of the shop floor (approx 100m) whilst entire factory came to a halt and slow spanner tapped his entire walk! It happened to him once and he vowed not to suffer that again. No more mistakes on his drawings! Each design engineer had a “scrap pile” out the back of the factory with their name above. Any scraps from their errors were piled up. Pile got too big then you were sacked!
