A true genius, engineer and all round good guy sadly gone R.i.p

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1086 ... er-profile
A good profile from 2013 - quite a guy. I wonder if such people will ever exist in the future as no-one does engineering apprenticeships now and innovation only seems to come out of a computer screen.
RIP. I hope his workshop goes to a good home!

Yes, perhaps not the last of a breed but they're becoming fewer. RIP

Had some dealings with him in the late '90s when I recieved some sponsorship from his then employers Giant. They ran a cross country race team on their then cutting edge MCM carbon race bike. Unlike the 9 stone whippets that rode for 11/2 hours around a field, I was much harder on the equipment being normally proportioned and competing in 5 hour trailquests. After I'd returned the 3rd broken frame, he conceded that they had probably made them a bit on the thin side and gave me a beefed up one that I've still got. He was quite an abrasive character and didn't really fit in with the Giant corporate politics. He will be missed though, eccentric innovative men in sheds are rare these days (present company excepted)

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:17 am https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1086 ... er-profile
A good profile from 2013 - quite a guy. I wonder if such people will ever exist in the future as no-one does engineering apprenticeships now and innovation only seems to come out of a computer screen.
RIP. I hope his workshop goes to a good home!

About Sixty thousand engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually so it's not all bad news.

About Sixty thousand engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually so it's not all bad news.

Genuine question - are they 'proper' apprenticeships where you learn the job hands on from the skilled and experienced or just going to college for a couple of afternoons?

Sad news,

but his work wasn't all cutting edge and new designs,

a bit more mundane he shortened a pair of cranks for my mate, down to something like 155 mm, so he could still cycle with much reduced movement after a total knee joint replacement.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:07 pm

About Sixty thousand engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually so it's not all bad news.

Genuine question - are they 'proper' apprenticeships where you learn the job hands on from the skilled and experienced or just going to college for a couple of afternoons?

I believe a genuine "apprentice" will be employed 80% of the time and 20% is training, either in the workplace or elsewhere. It's been a couple of years since I've had to do careers advice however...

IAG remains the same and ilan apprenticeship can be
1. Ft college to level 2
2. 80%=work 20 %=college either one day per week or block release

Think you can do your level 4 then HND then degree but the people i work with are not that bright so not certain

It's not on the job training and time served as it was many years ago( the quality of which depended entirely on who you worked with and what tooling they had )

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:07 pm

About Sixty thousand engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually so it's not all bad news.

Genuine question - are they 'proper' apprenticeships where you learn the job hands on from the skilled and experienced or just going to college for a couple of afternoons?

My son is doing one: mechanical engineering apprenticeship with one of the big motor manufacturers. He works 8am-6pm in the shop under the guidance of two mentors and there is one week every two months at their academy in a small city not too far north of here. It's not all roses: minimum wage and the management could do with some management skills if his stories of bullying and parent-child approach to their teams is anything to go by. But he's never been happier and I'm dead proud of him for following a different path to me and his mum.

And RIP Mike Burrows.

johnnystorm wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:57 pm

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:17 am https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1086 ... er-profile
A good profile from 2013 - quite a guy. I wonder if such people will ever exist in the future as no-one does engineering apprenticeships now and innovation only seems to come out of a computer screen.
RIP. I hope his workshop goes to a good home!

About Sixty thousand engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually so it's not all bad news.

Good, glad to hear that. My comment was based on Telford college in Edinburgh shutting it's entire engineering workshop as the demand for the various NQ, ScotVEC and NC/ND courses dropped to almost zero. I did a load of night classes there and got to know a few of the lecturers quite well so it was sad when they shut up shop and got rid of all the gear. They said that colleges across Scotland were ditching trad metal work type engineering courses which were being replaced by more generic engineering courses with the focus on CNC and CAD.... which is fine but as I've often commented in my 'field' - stuff what the computer says, it's what you know!

I suspect Mike Burrows was of that mind set hence is comments on the UCI and dealings with corporate firms...