British Steel has welcomed 28 more youngsters to its Teesside Beam Mill as the business reaffirms its commitment to the Industrial Cadets scheme inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales.
During a visit to our Teesside operations in May 2010, The Prince said he’d like to see manufacturing companies doing more to engage with young people - to help increase awareness of industry and job opportunities.
Tata Steel, which then owned our Teesside operations, decided to launch a pilot project to engage with local schools in Redcar. It was called ‘Industrial Cadets’ - the name proposed by The Prince of Wales.
Since then the scheme has gone from strength to strength and now more than 100 companies across the country run their own Industrial Cadets programmes.
Paul Martin, British Steel’s HR & Business Service Director, said: “We’re keen to invest in young people as they are critical to the success of the manufacturing industry in Teesside and the UK.
“The Industrial Cadets programme is a great way of opening young people’s minds to the great opportunities in our industry but also giving them the skills to enter the industry with confidence. They also get a nationally-recognised award at the end of it.”
The Cadets spent three full days with British Steel, learning all about the business and using their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) knowledge on a variety of exciting challenges.
Activities included vehicle construction, spaghetti bridge building and a science-based party popper prediction activity.
All 28 cadets have graduated with a Bronze Industrial Cadets award after completing 20 hours with British Steel and meeting the competencies set out in the Industrial Cadets programme guidelines.
Pupils from five Teesside schools joined this year’s programme - Rye Hills School, Outwood Academy Bydales, Kirkleatham Hall School, Sacred Heart Secondary Catholic Voluntary Academy and Laurence Jackson School.
And Paul said: “Our programme is designed to raise youngsters’ aspirations and inspire them to consider a job in engineering or manufacturing.
“We’re proud to be working with local schools to offer this opportunity, helping to raise the standards of workplace experiences and hopefully creating a talent pipeline of skilled employees for the future.”
Hannah Boyes, Year 9 Learning Manager at Outwood Academy Bydales, said: “This has been a brilliant opportunity for our students to gain first-hand experience of the steel industry, and the importance of the provision here on Teesside for future growth in Britain.”
Kirkleatham Hall School Headteacher Karen Robson said: “Our students learn skills involved in the production of steel and its products, however they learn so much more than this. They have the opportunity to work seamlessly with pupils from other schools, creating teams and learning about teamwork.”
Caroline Waugh, Acting Headteacher for Rye Hills School, said: “Our young people are thoroughly enjoying learning about the different aspects of engineering and what British Steel apprenticeships can offer them in the future. We are very grateful to be involved.”
This year’s Industrial Cadets programme is the latest in a series of moves by British Steel to help develop the next generation of steelworkers.
Earlier this year, the company announced it had taken on:
And it has recently revealed it is taking on a further 57 apprentices across its whole business next year, including nine in Teesside.
For the most up to date information about opportunities at British Steel, visit http://britishsteel.co.uk/join-our-team/ and click on the scheme you are interested in.