People: Nicholas Associates; Unity Enterprise; and more

Nicholas Associates has strengthened its specialist Engineering recruitment team in Sheffield with the appointment of two new team members, as the business continues to invest in its engineering and manufacturing recruitment offering.

Lewis Walker joins as a recruitment consultant and will focus specifically on the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

He has a wealth of recruitment experience most recently working as a senior recruitment consultant specialising in transactional-level accounts and finance recruitment prior to moving over to support the engineering recruitment desk.

With experience across the full recruitment process, he will work with both clients and candidates to identify, attract and secure talent across the engineering and manufacturing markets.

He said: “I chose to join Nicholas Associates because they have been established for almost 50 years and I know they have a strong reputation within the industry.

“I’m looking forward to bringing my recruitment experience into the engineering and manufacturing sectors and developing my career with the team.”

Joining Walker is Reece Miller Sanders, who takes up the role of candidate consultant.

Sanders brings a combination of engineering, administration, sales support and customer service experience to the position, including a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing (Mechanical) Engineering and a Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship.

Previously, he worked for European Filter Solutions Ltd, supporting invoicing, customer relationships and warehouse operations.

In his new role, he will focus on sourcing, screening and managing candidates, matching them with vacancies generated by the team’s 360 recruiters.

Sanders said: “I wanted a change of pace from my previous environment in administration. Recruitment provides me with a new challenge that I haven’t faced before, as well as the opportunity for increased income based on performance, which I find motivating.

“I’m really looking forward to developing my recruitment career and learning more about the engineering sector.”

Paul Brammer, director, added: “We’re pleased to welcome Lewis and Reece to the team. We’re committed to continuing to invest in our Engineering division and these appointments are an important part of that growth.

“Both Lewis and Reece bring different but highly complementary skills and experience. Lewis has a strong recruitment background, while Reece’s combination of engineering education, administration and sales experience gives him a great foundation for his new role.”

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An experienced account manager and wholesale specialist with a proven track record in commercial operations, supply chains and logistics has been appointed manager of Unity Enterprise (UE), the not-for-profit subsidiary of Leeds-based BME housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise.

Ben Nutt joins from Morrisons where he was an account manager within Morrisons’ Wholesale division.

A graduate in business management from the University of Bradford and awarded Chartered Manager status by the Chartered Management Institute, he has also completed the Morrisons Degree Apprenticeship Scheme.

Established in 2000 to support local entrepreneurship, UE provides 153 affordable business units across three centres for more than 140 diverse businesses, which together employ more than 1,250 people.

In his new role, Nutt will lead a multi-skilled team in the delivery of high-quality services to business tenants and other stakeholders.

He will also manage Unity Business Centre, Leeds Media Centre and Chapeltown Enterprise Centre on a day-to-day basis, and promote UE’s work locally, regionally and nationally.

Cedric Boston, Unity Homes and Enterprise chief executive, said: “Ben arrives with an impressive business background and a wealth of hands-on management experience.

“He will head an award-winning team who have built strong relationships with business tenants, external partners and the local communities whose needs we proudly serve.

“Ben understands the unique part UE plays in actively promoting entrepreneurship to individuals who are not generally encouraged by the social housing sector to embrace this route to career success. I believe he will flourish in the role.”

Nutt added: “I am thrilled to be joining UE which has an excellent reputation for empowering individuals and businesses to succeed in a competitive environment.

“As well as helping established enterprises to grow, I will be working with colleagues to identify aspiring entrepreneurs in the community and provide whatever assistance we can to help them fulfil their business dreams.”

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The first Yorkshirewoman to become head of a historic City of London livery company has vowed to help talented people working in industry get the recognition and opportunities they deserve.

Elizabeth Bonfield has been installed as Master of the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers, Alias Wire Workers, at a ceremony at Mansion House in the Square Mile.

Bonfield has had a long and successful career in vocational education and training, including senior roles at several manufacturing awarding bodies.

She was the first woman to become a director of metals sector trade association BMPCA and was the instigator of the Industry Apprentice Council, the first collective voice for apprentices in representations to government and industry.

In her installation speech, she said she wanted to “create opportunities for all of us to engage more deeply with the trade connections” during her year in office, citing everything from jewellery-making to manufacturing components for Formula 1 cars as examples of career paths in the metals sector.

As a nod to her Yorkshire heritage, the company will award its annual charity fund grant to Calderdale Industrial Museum, which is run entirely by volunteers. The money will help bring historic wire-making machinery into full working order at the museum’s Halifax site.

Kevin Parkin and Richard Cook, directors at South Yorkshire-based Castings Technology, said: “Elizabeth is a passionate advocate for our industry and for the people who work in it.

“Her tireless commitment to championing apprenticeships and developing talent has left a lasting mark on the metals sector and we’re proud to call her a friend. We wish her every success as Master this year.”

Dame Susan Langley, the 697th Lord Mayor of the City of London, presented Bonfield with a glass sculpture to mark the occasion, incorporating a fragment of stone from St Paul’s Cathedral and minerals collected from the Thames shoreline. Both women are the third to hold their respective roles.

The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers, Alias Wire Workers, is one of 114 livery companies in the City of London.

The company traces its roots to the historic tin plate and wire-working trades, and continues to support students and apprentices in materials science and the metals industries.