AN APPRENTICESHIP IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY
This month British Steel began recruiting. They are looking for 50 apprentice roles along with 30 graduate posts for its sites across the UK. The significance of this for the Liverpool City Region is the buoyancy it brings to the market and the opportunities for steel working and fabrication across the region.
British Steel are advertising apprenticeships in mechanical and electrical engineering, fabrication and welding. Human Resources Director Derek Scott said: “Steel is vital to modern economies and we’re investing in our business and our people to ensure we keep supplying the steel society needs. Our transformation is well underway and our new apprentices and graduates will play key roles in helping us build a net zero future.”
In 2015 the sector was hit with plant closures and thousands of job losses. This search for fresh talent delivers sector confidence in the future of UK-made steel and the range of businesses that fabricate and manufacture products from it. Steel products include safety products and many products in renewable energy and other critical national infrastructure as well as supporting the transition to net zero. One of the many examples of how steel is used in the renewable energy sector is submarine cables. A £16 billion project that will use British-made steel in the cable construction will deliver electricity from Morocco to Devon.
So what are the apprenticeship opportunities in the steel industry across Liverpool? While British Steel specialise in steel manufacture from iron ore, a wider range of companies across the Liverpool City Region work in steel fabrication. This is the process of taking steel and turning it into product for industries from construction to car manufacture and even household products. It involves a wide range of technical skills from welding to grinding, laser cutting to punching and folding sheet metal. There are a range of training providers across the Liverpool City Region offering a Level 3 apprenticeship in metal fabrication. They include Be More Ambassadors Wirral Met and Riverside College.
An apprenticeship in metal fabrication will train you to work with rolled steel joists, columns, channels, steel plate and metal sheet. You may be manufacturing bridges, oil rigs, ships, petro-chemical installations, cranes, platforms, aircraft, automotive and machinery parts, sheet metal enclosures, equipment supports, in fact anything that can be made out of metal.
If you would like further information on apprenticeships and how to apply for them, talk to the Apprenticeship Support by Be More Team. The team is funded by the European Social Fund & LCR Strategic Investment Fund and provides impartial information and advice on apprenticeships across the Liverpool City Region.
