Physical Digital
Physical Digital Metrology apprenticeship
Apprentices who undertake the full training will become valuable measurement specialists within their organisations, with the ability to contribute significantly to the future of the Metrology industry and the UK economy.
The 3D optical measurement company, Physical Digital has given its input into the UK’s first Metrology apprenticeship via the company’s Managing Director.
Tim Rapley was invited to join a steering group to share his metrology and 3D scanning expertise as the Level 3 Apprenticeship was in development. The training course was led by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in conjunction with the Metrology Trailblazer Group, who lent on the advice of over 30 employers and key stakeholders in the field. The steering group set out standards for Metrology Technicians across a variety of industries.
As the UK’s leading GOM optical 3D scanning metrology company, Physical Digital were happy to influence the standards of the first Metrology Technician apprenticeship. In particular, Rapley has a number of years’ worth of experience in metrology. Before establishing Physical Digital in response to a demand from automotive for the high-accuracy data captured through 3D scanning, Rapley worked for McLaren Racing.
Offering his expertise for the Metrology apprenticeship is not the first time Rapley has looked to support future engineers. He has consistently demonstrated his support by offering work placements at his company, attending educational talks and providing 3D scanning and reverse engineering services for university teams taking in part in the annual Formula Student motorsport competition.
“Apprenticeships are no longer the poor relation to academic training,” a Physical Digital press release read. “Over the past few years, the relevance of good quality, on-the-job apprenticeship training has been recognised across a wide range of traditional and new industries. Now it is possible to undertake an apprenticeship in such diverse subjects as Law, IT and Digital Marketing, alongside the traditional Engineering and Construction apprenticeships.”
The reason for these brand-new apprenticeship training standards is to ensure the training offered to engineering students is entirely relevant and beneficial to the future of the Metrology industry. It will also create more opportunities for those starting out in the Metrology industry and will help support the growth of the Metrology workforce nationwide.
Submitted in June 2016, the application for the Metrology apprenticeship has been approved by the Department for Education. Apprentices who undertake the full training will become valuable measurement specialists within their organisations, with the ability to contribute significantly to the future of the Metrology industry and the UK economy.
Founded in 2005, Physical Digital has offered its services in the areas of 3D scanning, quality inspection and reverse engineering to a variety of different industries. Using GOM ATOS scanning systems, Physical Digital provides highly accurate scan data in order to improve the quality of products, speed up the production cycle and reduce waste.
