Romar Engineering was very pleased to recently take part in a Western Sydney Business Connection (WSBC) project to promote advanced manufacturing careers for Year 9 and Year 10 students.
Western Sydney is home to a high proportion of manufacturers, and it’s set to become an innovation hub with developments including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) and Aerotropolis.
Simultaneously, skills shortage is a concern. A 2018 study by Deloitte in the US estimated that 2.4 million manufacturing positions would remain unfilled in the following two years due to factors including generational shift (the retirement of highly skilled baby boomers), reduced intake due to the misconception that manufacturing is a shrinking sector and a shortage of technological skills.
With Australian manufacturing employment projected to increase by over 50,000 in the next five years, WSBC set out to build a program to excite young people about the potential of advanced manufacturing careers. Four of Romar’s team took part, and here’s what they had to say.
Rita Nicolas
As Romar’s Manufacturing Manager, Rita Nicolas oversees our day to day manufacturing operations across multiple facilities, to ensure seamless manufacturing processes.
“I’ve been here for around eight years. I started in the quality department and projects team. I moved to take over one facility and now I oversee all of them, each with their own manager. I did an internship straight from university. I had a biomedical engineering degree and a materials degree, so Romar was an ideal fit.”
Rita’s diverse role includes quoting, reviews of current processes and general maintenance. “I ensure every project is quoted correctly, our processes are working, and that we have the staff and training in place. With every project, the journey can be quite long, but getting to the end product is very rewarding.”
Morgan Wagner
Another former intern is Morgan Wagner, who joined us as a Manufacturing Engineer after completing his degree last year.
“When I left school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I decided on a double degree in engineering and science. My science focus was on human biology and through that I became interested in biomedical engineering, which triggered my interest in Romar. I called Alan and he kindly took me on for a 12 week internship, which I loved.”
Morgan now works across our advanced manufacturing and clean room departments. “On a day to day basis, I make sure everything is ready to go for production, and everything is in place to get our products out the door on time.”
Morgan is also looking forward to Romar’s future directions. “We’re looking to manufacturing valves for aerospace, and I’m very excited to be joining in on that. I had a fair bit of experience with fluid dynamics at university, so to be able to design valves will be an awesome application of what I’ve learnt.”
Build your career with Romar
Romar has consistently embraced innovation to remain a leader in manufacturing solutions.
We have broad manufacturing capability across areas including additive manufacturing, medical device manufacturing, precision molding and elastomers – and we’re always on the lookout for the best and brightest young students for our intern program.
“My advice is to dip your toe in and see if you like it, and don’t be afraid to get pushed in a certain direction to try it,” says Rita. “The field is so large that if you do find something you’re interested in, there is a path for you.”
Please contact us for leading manufacturing solutions, or to discuss your advanced manufacturing career.
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