People on the move: Morgan Sindall; Reward Finance; Hibberts Solicitors

The construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall has welcomed two pre-apprentices to the £1bn Paddington Village site in Liverpool and is also boosting the skills of its existing team.

The students – Mark Sloan, 17, and Adam Hughes, 19, are both undertaking 10 week work experience placements with Morgan Sindall, gaining valuable experience on part of the landmark extension to the city’s Knowledge Quarter for Liverpool City Council.

Existing Morgan Sindall team members are also developing their skills.

Danny Cocker a key operative and the first person to be directly employed on the site, has enrolled on a management apprenticeship to boost his skills.

Cocker, who lives on the Wirral and is helping to prepare the Paddington Village site during this important first phase of work, will be undertaking an ILM NVQ Level 3 qualification in leadership and management practice.

Sloan and Hughes come from Toxteth and Allerton respectively and are on a traineeship programme at Blackburne House in Liverpool.

The work placement will form an essential part of this employability programme. The ultimate aim is to get both into jobs or apprenticeships with Morgan Sindall or one of their subcontractors.

Barry Roberts, area director for Morgan Sindall in the North West, said: “It’s fantastic to have Mark and Adam joining us on site at Paddington Village, and always brilliant to see people like Danny with enthusiasm, talent and ambition making the most of opportunities to advance their careers and grow their skillsets. This is a very exciting project and one that will have a major impact on the Liverpool City Region.

“Developing the skills of our existing team members and helping young people to explore the industry and the great opportunities it offers is something Morgan Sindall and our partners are passionate about. We are committed to doing all we can to promote construction as the great, professional industry with brilliant career prospects that it is.”

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Alternative funding provider Reward Finance has attracted another high-profile finance professional to its North West team with Mike Calvert joining as business development director.

Calvert is well known in both Manchester and Liverpool having worked in the finance sector for 30 years.

He joins from Bibby Financial Services where he was head of sales for the North West, helping to make the Liverpool office the most profitable and successful in the Bibby group.

Calvert said: “This is a really exciting time to be joining Reward Finance. It is experiencing dramatic growth due to the fact that no one offers the same product range, flexibility and speed of decision-making in the market.

“In addition the company continues to be keen to lend, especially following the recent investment of an additional £40m from Foresight Group.

“This presents a great opportunity for me to use my network to build on Reward’s success by raising the awareness and capability of the company across the North West.”

Group sales and marketing director of Reward Finance Nick Smith said: “We have known Mike for a number of years and we know he will be a real asset for Reward Finance. He is one of the best connected finance professionals in the North West which helped him build the best performing office in his previous employers group.

“We are building a powerful and well respected team in the region and Mike’s appointment provides further proof of our ambitious plans.”

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Hibberts Solicitors in Nantwich, Cheshire has welcomed two new solicitors to the team as it continues to grow and expand.

Trusts and estates practitioner Nicola Mahon is based in both the Crewe and Nantwich office working in the probate department and she is joined by Selina Pavey at Nantwich, who will also be assisting the probate team.

Mahon has carried out private client work since 2,000 in firms throughout Manchester and Cheshire.

She is a member of the private client section of The Law Society and a full member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) having completed the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates as well as The STEP Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation.

Mahon specialises in preparing various wills, providing inheritance tax and estate planning advice, probate and administration of estates, lasting powers of attorney, court of protection work, transfers of equity, severances of joint tenancies as well as experience in selling estate properties.

She said: “I joined Hibberts because I wanted to work in a firm which is traditional, a long-established part of the local community and which provides excellent service to its clients. The firm also has a reputation for agricultural and probate work and I am looking forward to working in these areas.”

Pavey has joined from a Manchester city centre firm and has a wealth of experience in dealing with complex High Court Appeal cases, family law matters, conveyancing as well as wills and probate.

She said: “Having worked in a city centre firm I wanted to become part of a traditional local firm of solicitors and be involved in the local community, consequently Hibberts fitted that ideology perfectly.”

Stewart Bailey, managing partner at Hibberts said: “We are excited to welcome these two highly qualified solicitors on board at Hibberts.

“They have already proven themselves to be invaluable to the firm and have drawn on their exceptional knowledge and experience to become fantastic members of the team.”