Engineering business develops the next generation of skilled workers
A business which designs and engineers components for trains, combat vehicles and power stations is to recruit another dozen apprentices.
William Cook, which has sites in Sheffield, Leeds and County Durham, wants to take on the extra apprentices after its last intake progressed to full-time roles at the engineering group.
The firm is supporting a number of its most recent apprentices on foundation degree courses as part of its growth strategy.
The newest recruits will have the chance to work on high-value products in the transport, defence, energy and structural steel markets.
William Cook has won accolades for its development of industry talent including Shivan Morkar, who was named Winner of the Engineering / Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by Openreach, at last week’s Sheffield City Region Apprenticeship Awards.
He previously won AMRC Training Centre’s Apprentice of the Year in March, and is now among the former apprentices who are studying foundation degrees through William Cook.
Morkar is working as a CNC machinist at the group’s £15m rail plant in Leeds, and is studying for his mechanical manufacturing degree.
Other success stories include Harrison Bonsall and Adeel Hussain, both now beginning degree courses with the company, and Jack Mezulis, who has been appointed methods engineer at the £8m Precision plant in Sheffield.
William Cook is hunting for another 12 apprentices to begin in September and is continuing its partnership with the AMRC Training Centre in Rotherham.
It has also developed an alliance with the National Foundry Training Centre, part of the new Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills, which is based in Wolverhampton.
Sir Andrew Cook, chairman, said: “A maxim of mine is ‘If you want to stay in business, you must be the best in the business’.
“This requires capital: financial capital, machinery capital and human capital. Of the three, the human capital is the most important. Young people must be given jobs and trained well if a business is to survive and prosper. They must be motivated and enthused.
“Too often I see people, young and old, hiding behind a computer screen. This is no good.
“Repeatedly I have pledged to be the ‘last man standing’ in the real world of manufacturing. Manufacturing, not will o’ the wisp software or discretionary disposables, but hard products of fine quality and engineered to work.
“The human capital of our apprentice schemes is the most important element of this, but this comes with a price: a price which has to be built into the product if there is to be long-term continuity in the life and health of the business.”
