HRH The Princess Royal visits Xtrac Academy

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal’s visit to meet recipients of her eponymous Princess Royal Training Award, assessed by the City & Guilds Group she serves as president, was accommodated by the motorsport & automotive transmission technology specialist Xtrac at its global headquarters in Thatcham, in the Royal County of Berkshire, on Wednesday, 11 May 2022.   The visit followed the presentation of the 2021 award to 46 businesses at a special ceremony on Thursday, 28 April, at the Mansion House in London, hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City.

Upon arriving at Xtrac to meet apprentices and graduates and hear about their training, Her Royal Highness was received by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire, James Puxley.  He began the proceedings by presenting Dr Ann Limb, chair, and Kirstie Donnelly MBE, group chief executive of the City and Guilds of London Institute, also introducing Peter Digby, president, Joe Greenwell CBE, non-executive director, and Adrian Moore, chief executive officer of Xtrac.

“Having twice received the Princess Royal Training Award, including in 2018, we were delighted to accommodate this visit following the recent official opening of our new apprenticeship academy,” said Digby.  “We warmly welcomed her gracious comments about the hard work we put into our apprenticeship and graduate training schemes and that we should be justly proud of our success and achievements.”

Starting his career as a British Airways apprentice and Xtrac’s longest-serving employee, the company’s president has long supported the development of its apprentice scheme.  “Our training programmes provide a solid foundation underpinning the technical and sales success we’ve achieved since the company started in 1984.  Today, we employ almost 400 highly trained staff in the UK and USA.”

During her visit, the newly built computer-aided engineering classroom facilitated The Princess and Ms Donnelly participating in a round table discussion on ‘Females in Engineering’ with apprentice Faye Cooke and graduate engineers Jessica Matthews and Katie Parton.

Her Royal Highness also met in the Academy’s practical skills workshop with Xtrac’s professional training partners, including Shelly Van Meter, head of department and apprenticeships, and Cliff Newcomb, development coach, Newbury College.  The Princess also met master coachmaker Sarah Sillars OBE and coachmaker John Blauth, from the Worshipful Company of Coachmaker and Harness Makers, who support apprentices with educational bursaries.

During Xtrac’s manufacturing facilities tour, Peter Digby and Adrian Moore explained its operations to The Princess, who met with former apprentice Ryan Bambrick and current apprentice Joe Monger, trainers Luke Barrington and Matt Ford, and former apprentice Jamie Rusbridge.

Xtrac’s high precision bevel-gear cutting, and meticulous grinding operations, were demonstrated by apprentices Wesley Bloom and George Englefield, former apprentice Stephen Gomm, accompanied by machinists Keith Dickinson and Chris Neal, team leaders and former apprentices Martin Carrick and Jason Woodley, trainer Neil Warwick, and apprentice manager, Warren Page.

In the quality department, apprentice Adam Tamcken and inspector Conor Englefield explained how Xtrac achieves full traceability of every component.   While the apprentice Jamie Lawson, accompanied by trainers Alex Jennings and Jack Parkins, familiarised Her Royal Highness with Xtrac’s essential heat treatment operation.

Other employees meeting The Princess included former apprentices Matt Booth, Chris Burn, Joshua Crolla, Dan Eggleton, Harrison Gale, Arron Marshall, and Lee Stannard, along with current apprentices Thomas Aram, Adam Bowes, Joshua Gaut, Alfie Gibbons, Joseph Jukes, Chris Marrs, and Louis Wilson.

The company’s chief executive, Adrian Moore, who began his career as an undergraduate sponsored by Rolls-Royce, is highly supportive of the company’s training programmes, which the board of directors and senior management team comprehensively endorse.

“Our training programmes strongly underpin the continual improvement of our capabilities,” said Moore.  “It receives the highest priority throughout the business, supporting the company demand for a highly trained multi-skilled workforce to ensure our customers have the best products and services.”

“It’s particularly relevant as we are at the forefront of a once-in-a-generation technology change as the motorsport and automotive industry transitions from the internal combustion engine to hybrids and electric vehicles.  Empowering our employees ensures we have the best people delivering innovative solutions to our customers globally.  The Queen’s Award for Enterprise similarly recognised Xtrac in 2020 with its Innovation Award for our advanced range of integrated lightweight electric vehicle transmissions.”

Xtrac introduced its apprenticeship scheme in 1993 and has worked with Newbury College since 2003 to deliver its apprenticeships in advanced manufacturing.  It has since been an exemplar of engineering training and learning best practices in a high-growth company.  The investment into its Academy is part of Xtrac’s ongoing business expansion, with additional state-of-art test facilities and increased manufacturing capacity to meet growing global demand.

The Xtrac Academy, a dedicated apprenticeship facility, was officially opened by Laura Farris, MP for Newbury, on 4 March 2022.  For more information, please visit: Xtrac Academy

(L to R) Adrian Moore, CEO; Joe Greenwell, non-executive director; and Peter Digby, president of Xtrac, welcome The Princess Royal to the company’s Thatcham headquarters accompanied by Kirstie Donnelly MBE, group chief executive and Dr Ann Limb, chair of the City and Guilds of London Institute
Former apprentice Jamie Rusbridge discusses Xtrac’s engineering design capabilities with Her Royal Highness
(L to R) Adrian Moore and Xtrac’s apprentice manager, Warren Page, introduce former apprentices Martin Carrick, Jason Woodley and Stephen Gomm to Her Royal Highness, keenly interested in the company’s advanced manufacturing facilities.
The Princess Royal and Kirstie Donnelly MBE, group chief executive of the City and Guilds of London Institute, discuss ‘Females in Engineering’ with Xtrac’s twice apprentice-of-the year Faye Cooke (centre) and graduate engineers Jessica Matthews (left) and Katie Parton (right)
(L to R) Former apprentice Stephen Gomm, master coachmaker Sarah Sillars OBE and coachmaker John Blauth, from the Worshipful Company of Coachmaker and Harness Makers, explain to Her Royal Highness that Stephen is their first Coachmakers Automotive Apprentice. Gomm impressed the Award’s panel with his straightforward manner, clear knowledge about and enthusiasm for his work and by demonstrating an indication of his future success.
Xtrac’s apprentice manager, Warren Page, receives its Princess Royal Training Award from Her Royal Highness at a special ceremony at the Mansion House in London, hosted by the City’s Lord Mayor. The Award followed a ‘rigorous assessment’ by the City & Guilds Group, with Xtrac, for the second time, successfully meeting the standard of excellence required.