Tata Steel Wins Apprenticeship Award for its ‘Talent Pipeline’

Tata Steel was rewarded for developing an Apprenticeship Programme over the past half-century when the company was named a winner at the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2017 final on Friday night.

The company, which employs more than 6,300 people, including 211 apprentices, at its Wales-based operations, collected the Macro Employer of the Year Award at the prestigious annual awards ceremony at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport.

Huw Mathias, training delivery manager at Tata Steel in Port Talbot, said:

“We are very proud on behalf of the team at Tata Steel to have won this award, which is recognition for all the hard work and dedication behind the scenes.

“This award has been 50 years in the making during which time the business has trained around 5,000 apprentices. Apprentices are at the heart of our company. They are our future and without them we don’t have a sustainable steel industry.”

Latest recruits

The company recently welcomed the latest crop of apprentices and graduates to its industry-leading scheme.

100 new recruits have joined Tata’s apprentice training and graduate schemes at sites including in Shotton as well as Llanwern, Trostre and Port Talbot.

Huw Mathias said:

“It’s vital we invest in skills and new talent for the future as part of our development of a sustainable business.

“These new apprentices and graduates will be our engineers and leaders of the future, supporting our focus on supplying high-quality and innovative steel products for manufacturers in the UK and around the world. I look forward to watching our new cohort as they develop their skills and careers.”

Picture: Tata Steel’s training delivery manager Huw Mathias and training adviser Neil Preece receive the Macro Employer of the Year Award from Kevin Pascoe, employer and workforce engagement manager for the Open University.