Liberty welcomes a host of new apprentices and graduates

Liberty has welcomed a host of new apprentices and graduates to its Speciality Steels business, highlighting the continued importance of the next generation in taking forward the company’s GREENSTEEL strategy.

Meanwhile, Liberty British Aluminium has stepped up its investment in skills for the future by recruiting three new apprentices to its Lochaber smelter and hydro site in Fort William.

Liberty has welcomed a host of new apprentices and graduates to its Speciality Steels and British Aluminium divisions / Picture: GFG Alliance

At Liberty Speciality Steels, a total of 12 apprentices and four graduates embarked on their induction programme at the Stocksbridge site. Renewable energy, materials, composites and environmental engineering are among the subjects that apprentices will learn about.

General Manager for SIMEC Lochaber Power & Liberty British Aluminium Tom Uppington, said: “I am thrilled to welcome three local young men to the smelter as they begin their careers. Apprenticeships at the smelter and hydropower stations offer local young people an invaluable opportunity to study while getting paid to gain hands-on experience developing their skills in a live industrial operation.”

Almost 50 – just over 20% – of the current workforce at Liberty British Aluminium are current or former apprentices. Several leadership roles at the smelter and power station are occupied by former apprentices who have climbed through the business to various technical, supervisory and management positions.

Tony Goddard, training and delivery manager at Liberty Speciality Steels, added: “I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the group of young people that have joined us to embark upon a long and fulfilling career in the steel industry.”

“As one of the top recruiters of apprentices in the Yorkshire region, Liberty Speciality Steels recognises the importance of developing the next generation of engineers both for the future of the business and the wider engineering profession.

“The apprentices are joining the business at an opportune time as we look to step up our transition to a greener steel business by recycling scrap metal in electric arc furnaces. This generation of workers will be the driving force behind the industry’s contribution to achieving the UK government’s recent pledge of cutting carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.”

Recognising the need for greater diversity in the engineering workforce across the UK, Liberty Speciality Steels is also sponsoring a new female engineering academy that Sheffield College is launching later this month. Students studying at the academy will have access to workshops, work experience and placements at the company’s sites in Rotherham and Stocksbridge.