Hull engineering firm grows workforce with 14 more apprentices from employer-led school

Hull based engineering business Spencer Group has continued to grow its workforce by taking on 14 more apprentices from Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC).

Spencer Group, which is one of Ron Dearing UTC’s founding partners, has employed 42 apprentices from Hull’s employer-led school in just three years.

The relationship between the school and the engineering business has created a productive pipeline of fresh talent for the engineering industry as well as opening up “exciting and rewarding” opportunities for dozens of young people.

Former Ron Dearing UTC students now make up a “significant proportion” of the company’s workforce of more than 300 directly-employed staff. The latest entry-level roles include nine Engineering Apprentices, one Mechanical Apprentice, one Electrical Apprentice, two Marketing Apprentices and one Scheduling Apprentice.

Charlie Spencer OBE, executive chairman and founder of Spencer Group, commented: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to take on so many apprentices from Ron Dearing again this year. As a growing business, it’s essential we bring in and develop young talent and that’s exactly what we’re doing with these exceptional young apprentices.

“They’ve had an outstanding experience at Ron Dearing, which has prepared them for the world of work with its employer-led model of education, and now they’ll learn from excellent mentors at Spencer Group during the next stage of their development. It’s very exciting for them – and for us.”

Spencer Group, which has its headquarters at Humber Quays on Hull Marina, is a privately-owned, multi-disciplinary business delivering engineering and construction solutions across the UK in the rail, bridges, transport, infrastructure, materials handling, energy and industrial sectors.

The business employed 14 apprentices from Ron Dearing UTC three years ago, followed by a further five two years ago and nine last year, with many more planned for future intakes.

Yvonne Moir, HR director at Spencer Group, added: “We’re very excited to welcome 14 new apprentices and we’re so impressed with them already. Our previous apprentices have proven to be of a really high standard and we have no doubt the latest intake will also become valuable additions to Spencer Group.

“We became involved with the UTC at the beginning because we wanted access to a pipeline of talented young people who would develop their careers with us. Those hopes have come to fruition and our original apprentices are now excelling in permanent roles.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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