Strength of business and education partnership in Selby district

Lambert Engineering, based in Tadcaster, is one of the Selby district’s businesses with strong links to top quality local education.

Young people face a lot of uncertainty in today’s uncertain world.  But one thing many of them are sure of is the need to get the right skills for business.

It’s places like the Selby district, right at the heart of Yorkshire, that continue to lead the way when it comes to making those all-important links between education and industry.

It helps, of course, to have a leading further education college in the area.  Selby College continues to be one of the best-performing in the UK.  In particular in terms of apprenticeships and helping learners to find work.  The College was named the best in England for getting jobseekers into employment, according to government figures.  Over the past few years the college has seen its apprenticeship programme grow significantly.

As businesses in the Selby district invest and grow – benefiting from the area’s great transport links, affordable business space and great quality of life – employers recognise the quality of the training provided by the College.  Significantly, Selby College staff have been praised for the quality of their careers advice, being awarded a ‘gold standard’ for careers education.

It’s the College’s work with the area’s leading companies that really stands out; companies such as Lambert Engineering at Tadcaster.  Lambert is a world leader in bespoke innovative factory automation projects for fast-moving consumer goods and the medical sector.

The company employs 180 staff, with a turnover of £23m, which has showed 115% growth over recent years.  It has a global network of suppliers and technology partners and quality clients such as Nestle and Procter and Gamble.

It’s a real success story of a Selby district business doing business with the world.

Despite the company’s global reach and international reputation, Lambert never loses sight of its roots and the community of which it is so proud to be a part.  The company’s commitment to building strong relationships with schools, colleges and universities in the Selby district and across Yorkshire was underlined when it reached the milestone of working with 1,000 pupils and students – all geared up towards raising the image of the industry and attracting the next generation of engineers.

Twelve new apprentices and graduates have been employed in the past three years with the majority being recruited through their strong academic links with Selby College and the University of Leeds.  Lambert was also recognised by the EEF in 2015 and 2016 for the work they do with local academic institutes, being presented both the regional and then national Partnerships with Education award.

This investment in the young people of the Selby district has really paid off for Lambert Engineering, and with significant new business space planned for the area over the next few years, there are plenty of opportunities for others to follow suit.

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