Sheffield Forgemasters welcomes 15 new apprentices in 2022 intake

The company, which has won awards for its approach to apprenticeships, has recruited 15 apprentices for the 2022 intake, all of whom will receive fully funded training, working towards a professional qualification whilst getting paid.

The positions were filled during the summer and include roles ranging from accounts, project management, moulder/coremaking, patternmaking, steel production, machining, metallurgy (Degree Apprenticeship) and mechatronics, but this is the first time they have been assembled on site after terms at college.

Rick Franckeiss, learning and development manager at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “I am delighted to welcome Sheffield Forgemasters’ newest group of apprentices together on our site and look forward to seeing their development alongside our £400 million investment programme.

“This is very positive time in the company and it offers significant career development for our apprentices as we adopt the latest technologies and shift to Industry 4.0 manufacturing to deliver one of the country’s most advanced manufacturing businesses."

Sheffield Forgemasters is a major employer in the Sheffield City Region, with 600 employees and an apprenticeships programme which makes up around ten per cent of its workforce at any one time.

The company was acquired in August 2021 by the Ministry of Defence who intend to invest up to £400m over the next 10 years to re-capitalise defence-critical plant and equipment on site.

Mr Franckeiss added: “Most of our apprentices remain with the company and many go on to further education after initial training.

“We consider apprentices to be the future leaders of the business and can proudly boast that our chief operating officer and board director, Gareth Barker, started out at Sheffield Forgemasters as an apprentice and worked his way up through the company to one of the most senior positions.

“I’d urge any potential future apprenticeship applicants to visit the Careers page on the Sheffield Forgemasters website, where our forthcoming apprenticeship opportunities will be advertised.”