Pat McCluskey and Pat Boland founded ANCA (formerly Australian Numerical Control and Automation) in 1974. Today it is a global CNC (computer numerical control) tool and cutter grinding machine manufacturer and exporter headquartered in Bayswater. 

Because of the highly specialised nature of its operations, the company started an apprenticeship program 11 years ago to fill a skills gap in the market. 

As ANCA Production Manager Travis Stapleton explains: “We are a niche industry. Even though you can train up in TAFE and learn the basics of fitting, a lot of work we do here is specific to ANCA so we need to grow our own talent.” 

The ANCA program upskills young people with an aim of becoming fully qualified and full-time ANCA employees after four years. 

“We aim to develop our own technical skills in-house for the Australian plant and globally – and for the community as well,” Travis says. 

Apprentice master

The program has been a success and continues to increase its intake. Next year five apprentices will join the program. 

Russell Shaw is ANCA’s apprentice master. With more than 30 years’ experience as a toolmaker, he has worked across industries such as petrochemical, naval and automotive. 

“My role is to encourage the apprentices all the way only from day one, and to ensure that what they are doing they can do the correct way,” he says. 

“It's mostly to do with encouragement and teaching them the basic principles of engineering so that when they do get out, they can understand what the whole thing is all about. 

“And in everyday life with whatever problems they’ve got, I'll try and see if I can help them to solve that. If I can't, then I find the suitable resource to do that.” 

Russell explains that the first year involves an introduction to ANCA machines and how they are manufactured, along with mechanical overviews and foundations. The latter years become more specialised within ANCA’s various departments.  

“For me to give all that experience across, it wasn't much to think about really, to give back to them.”  

Study tours

Apart from the usual avenues to source apprentices, ANCA also holds study tours. It partners with the Outer Eastern Local Learning & Employment Network (OELLEN), a community organisation, to entice youth.  

“We're working with people that are disengaged with school and work and looking for positive options for the future. We do work with schools to do study tours,” Travis says. 

“We have a lot of new technology. It's not the old-school dirty environment. There are some exciting opportunities for students coming through and they can see that first hand. 

“As they get older in their schooling years, we see if there's opportunities to take them on board as apprentices.  

“If they are happy with what they see at ANCA, and if we are happy with what we see, that's the type of people you want – willing to learn, willing to accept a lot of knowledge.”  

Pathways

The pathways to and from the apprenticeship program are wide-ranging. ANCA sees apprentices forge their own path within the company, elsewhere (before coming back), or even changing career direction within the company. 

“There are plenty of opportunities. We've got people studying further, doing diplomas, degrees. That's leading them into more advanced applications,” Travis says. 

“Some apprentices have gone on to become manufacturing engineers, supporting the technology and the process development in those areas. Some have gone on to become engineering managers.  

“Our current operations executive is a past ANCA apprentice, our current regional manager in Asia was also a previous ANCA apprentice.  

“We have had people that have joined ANCA through different departments, they see the exciting work we do, and when the apprenticeship spots become available, they put their hand up.  

“Some of the guys we've had come through that avenue have been our best apprentices. Coming in at a mature age, they've had some skills, some opportunities in other areas, and then they come through and pick it up from there. 

“Some of the apprentices do leave ANCA, they try other companies and they do return. But we do our part to support the local community.”  

Apprentice journey

ANCA Apprentice Charl Theron was born in South Africa before migrating to Australia in 2012. He was a teacher before deciding it was time for a change.  

Charl found ANCA after completing a electrotechnology pre-apprenticeship course. 

His journey highlights the universality of ANCA’s program. 

“I was quite smitten as soon as I walked into the place,” he says. 

“I saw the machines that they were building. I really liked it and found my way onto the apprenticeship program. I don't think I would have learned [these skills] anywhere else.  

“The great thing about their program is you get to work in all the different facets of the company, so you're not just stuck doing the same thing over and over. You learn a multitude of the of crafts in the one trade which I really enjoyed. 

“One of the things that drew me as well is that I was meeting people who had been working here 20, 25 years and still happy in their job. I don't know if I've seen that in any other place so that was that was a good sign to me.” 

Since finishing the apprenticeship Charl has already changed roles and is now part of the service team. 

“I was already drawn to it because the role takes me outside of just the ANCA facility [with that] and opportunities to work abroad especially.  

“[With] that comes good career advancement within ANCA as well. So it ticks all the boxes for me.”