Did You Know that SMS – Smart Made Simple has been in the electronics industry in the UK for nearly 100 years?
Did You Know that during this time, some of their team members have remained loyal to the company for three, and in one case, four generations of the same family?
That’s the current team member, his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather have all been part of the SMS journey, where knowledge is ‘built-in’.
So, what makes SMS – Smart Made Simple so special in the UK Contract Electronics Market (EMS) that this type of loyalty is embedded within the company culture?
Being based in Nottingham, UK, the company sits at the intersection of innovation and technology, therefore opportunities for a career in the tech industry are bountiful.
During a recent internal study, carried out by Human Resources Manager, Sarah Markowski, into this very subject, the findings were clear. Even though people have a choice, they prefer to remain within an environment in which they feel recognised, rewarded and respected.
A recent example of SMS’s continuous investment in the growth and development of their team members comes from Georgina Taylor, Quality Technician.
“We work in close collaboration with all colleges and universities within the surrounding area.” Sarah Markowski comments. “We are always aware of the courses on offer that will benefit us from a Human Resource development perspective, but also to support engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain students with a true hands-on experience within a real operational environment. As such, we often put our team members through further education courses. In this instance, Georgina approached us about her desire to progress her career by enhancing her practical experience with study. As a result, we researched the best course for Georgina and put her onto a day release programme, to enable her to attend a fully funded weekly course at the University of Derby.
Of course, physically booking Georgina onto the course is only the first step, which is why we supplement this by ensuring that she has the support from her internal peer group when she needs help with assignments and/or various projects relating to her role within SMS.”
Georgina’s hard work and relentless efforts have paid off, as she recently graduated with a BEng Upper Second-Class Degree (Hons) in Manufacturing Engineering. This has taken Georgina four years to complete on a part-time basis.
“The course was incredibly interesting, as was mixing up my years of practical experience with theory-based learning into; ethics, social responsibility, quality assurance, and manufacturing technologies. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank SMS for their ongoing support. I joined the organisation as an apprentice only six-years ago, and within SMS that means I’m still a baby! During this time, they have been like a supportive family to me and as I’ve moved through the company, from completing my apprentice to a fulltime role within Quality assurance, I’ve learned a great deal and I feel far more fulfilled as a person.” Georgina stated.
Continuing on from Ms. Taylor’s comments, Ms. Markowski concludes; “We are not only ‘smart’ by name, but we are ‘smart’ by nature too, and the way we do this is by making it as ‘simple’ as possible for our team members to grow with us, in the same way as we encourage our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers to. It’s Smart Made Simple.”