A world-leading research centre based in Stone is offering apprenticeships to people looking for a future in ceramics. The Advanced Materials Research and Innovation Centre (AMRICC) is running “The Material Science Technologist – Degree Apprenticeship”. This is a 4-year Level 6 programme, in conjunction with the University of Derby.
Richard Goodhead recently showed A Little Bit of Stone around the AMRICC facility. Goodhead is the Chief Marketing Officer for both AMRICC and Lucideon, a company that was instrumental in creating AMRICC, and relocated its HQ to Stone a few years ago. He explained that ceramics are present in a surprising number of products – it is not just teapots and cutlery. For example, you’ll find ceramics in jet engines, coping with extremely high temperatures.
Situated on Stone Business Park, AMRICC officially opened on Valentine’s Day 2023. Essentially, it is a “one-stop shop” for companies looking to sort out problems they have with their existing ceramics products, and to do testing of prototypes for new products.
What makes AMRICC special is that under one roof there is a huge collection – quite probably unique in the world – of advanced machines for creating and testing ceramics. Some of the advanced machines are the only ones of their type in the UK. Basically, if it involves the drying and sintering of ceramics, it can be done at AMRICC. (What is sintering? ALBOS didn’t know beforehand either – it’s the “process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction.”)
Essentially, AMRICC is dedicated to keeping Staffordshire as a centre of excellence and innovation for ceramics, as it has been for hundreds of years.
Beyond machines, however, you need well-trained and highly-skilled human beings to use them. This doesn’t happen by accident. Speaking specifically on the apprenticeships programme, Goodhead explained that Lucideon and AMRICC were heavily involved in the design and development of the apprenticeship with other employers to meet the changing needs of businesses for material science experts;
The AMRICC Centre hired its first-degree apprentice in 2021 and recruits annually. At the moment, there are seven degree apprentices, including Katie Hadley, who won the Rising Star award for the West Midlands at the Apprenticeships and Skills Awards 2024.
The apprentices give back to the community through outreach events – going to schools and advertising apprenticeships and careers in science and technology at various events.
All the apprentices will work with advanced ceramics, but each person specialises in slightly different materials and processes. For example, these include 3D printing ceramics for aerospace applications and sintering (that word again) ultra-high-temperature materials that will survive temperatures of over 2000degC.
If you or someone you know would be interested in an apprenticeship, more information can be found on the AMRICC website.
As many readers will know, the Trent and Mersey Canal was built because so much of the ceramics made in Staffordshire were not surviving the bumpy ride in horse and cart to places where they could be sold or exported for sale overseas. Canals were a smooth solution to the problem of breakage.
Almost three hundred years later, ceramics is still a key part of the town’s future.
Dr Marc Hudson is A Little Bit of Stone’s first environment correspondent. You can read his full bio here – https://alittlebitofstone.com/dr-marc-hudson-environment-correspondent-bio/
