Well I for one was very proud of my `cloth cap' especially when the peak had been slashed!!
The closing of Arborfield is going to have an long and ongoing effect, not only in the Electro Med field but also in other areas of engineering.
I have been in Electro Med both service (REME) and civy in the UK and Germany since the late 1960's and in all situations the `Arborfield Apprentice' has been extreamly well recieved (even a German civy company that I worked for had some knowledge of what it was).
I have worked with techs from the former Yugoslavia and Rommania, the main problem that I found was not technical as this can be taught/learnt, but communication skills - not only in a different language, but also in attitude. But then at my age I sometimes find the attitudes of some of the young Brits hard to understand!!
I don't know the answers but do know that we have to keep on striving to come out of the `back room'
All the best to all for 2005 and the future
John Langdon (`Horace' Arborfield intake 60c)
