T-LEVEL students are helping a business engineer a bright future as it relocates to the North East from London.
First year engineering students at Darlington College are designing a demonstration workbench which solutions consultancy Helixr will use to increase its profile with potential clients.
They showed their first designs to Helixr’s Neil Alderson who visited them in their workshop.
The portable workbench includes roller strips, storage, power and USB sockets and will feature a powder-coated metal frame and wooden top.
Neil said: “I was so impressed with the students’ ideas and we can’t wait to use the bench as we meet potential clients to tell them what we do.
“We were based in London working with pharmaceutical companies. But these companies have a big presence in this region and, as I’m originally from Bowes and worked for GSK in Barnard Castle, I persuaded Helixr to relocate to Darlington.
“We reached out to Darlington College to offer opportunities as we know how difficult it is for young people to build their CVs. So the engineers are doing the bench and the multi-media students are creating a welcome to Darlington video for us for our website.”
He said his company recognised the current workforce was getting older and the next generation needed bringing on. “They have a modern take on the world and can offer us so much more,” he said.
Darlington College lecturer Tom Cantle said: “The students understand that they are working on a project for Helixr that will be seen by companies all over the country. It is their work, something they can take pride in, a project on which they can feel like engineers.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.
