Snap-on support helps to transform automotive engineering at leading college.
The Snap-on team take pride in working with excellent UK colleges to pursue a vital mission: developing the knowledge and skills of young people who will become tomorrow’s engineers and technicians.
Our contribution goes far beyond supplying equipment and tools. We’re always pleased to complement the great work of college tutors with our many years’ experience of how essential engineering tasks should be done safely, efficiently and on budget.
At Yeovil College, serving South Somerset plus North and West Dorset, we have transformed the automotive engineering department, supplying and installing state of the art technical equipment and diagnostic systems, to create purpose designed safe, clean and well-lit workspaces.
We began by listening to the department’s leaders so we could really understand what they needed to achieve the college’s ambitious objectives. Snap-On’s Paul Towner has years of experience of working with colleges, so he took responsibility to manage the project.
Challenged by a growing curriculum the department acknowledged that its outdated resources and lack of usable space were restraints to them meeting the demands of providing the latest, highly technical automotive engineering qualifications. These are pushing the boundaries of current education in the automotive sector.
Says Jonathan Andrews, the college’s Curriculum Area Manager, Automotive Engineering: “I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Paul and the Snap-on UK Team who, along with the vision created by Yeovil College, have delivered nothing short of a transformation.
“Well done to all involved. We look forward to enjoying the resources and space for many more years.”
The integrated improvement package provided by Snap-on updated the automotive engineering workshop with the latest equipment, including ramps, ADAS, four-wheel alignment, diagnostic systems and hand tools. Snap-on then provided intensive technical guidance to ensure that the equipment could be used to maximum benefit.
Giving the workshop a new lease of life was driven in part by the introduction of new ‘T’ level qualifications. Also to enable learners to pursue and gain electric vehicle qualifications to meet rapidly growing demand for e-vehicle maintenance and repairs.
“Working with Paul was amazing,” says Jonathan. “He worked really hard with the demanding list of resources and budget I gave him and created a workspace which used that achieved the best outcome possible.”
“We needed a company which could help realize our aspirational design for a new and targeted curriculum, using the most up to date resources to enable our learners to develop and learn in the best way possible.
“This will give them an advantage when going out into industry with the ability to carry out practices which currently skilled technicians may not be familiar with, giving them a competitive edge above other potential candidates.
“Using quality equipment and top-notch technology helps our learners to go further and faster, setting them apart from the rest and giving them the best chance of enjoying a successful future.”
Yeovil College is an exceptionally high-performing further education college, achieving an annual turnover of over £20 million, increased from £12 million over the past seven years.
The college is pursuing the highest possible ambitions for its students and for the wider community, sharing the mission that ‘only our best is good enough.’
Jonathan added: “With our eyes firmly on the future of our region, we are focused on improving opportunities across South Somerset and North and West Dorset. Our relentless approach is having a huge impact; we are changing the lives of the people around us.”
