Member Article

Apprentices break the mould at Tyne Valley Plastics

Prudhoe-based plastic injection moulders, Tyne Valley Plastics have successfully recruited two 18-year-old apprentices during 2015.

Both Sam Stoves and James Whittemore decided to venture straight into the workplace after studying for their ‘A’ Levels.

Sam joined the company in March 2015 and is on a Modern Apprenticeship via Derwentside College. Remarkably, Sam has finished all his course work for the 1st year of his apprenticeship, despite being only seven months into the program and he is keen to start the work for his year two assignments. After a thorough grounding in TVP’s factory learning how to operate machines and set tooling, Sam is now moving into new product development and liaising with clients.

James joined TVP in September 2015, after completing his ‘A’ Levels. James is on an Advanced Apprenticeship via Tyne North Training in Newcastle. The first three months training is off-site, so James will join the Prudhoe team in January 2016. James states that he chose to go straight into a career rather than going to university because he wanted to do something practical. Like Sam, James will be learning about product design and both apprentices will be instrumental in helping the company as it works towards its ISO9001 status.

Gill Rice, Managing Director, commented, “It’s refreshing to see young people choosing an apprenticeship and wanting to invest in a career as 18-year-olds. We’re very happy to have Sam and James on board at Tyne Valley Plastics, as we plan for further growth.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Fran Williams .