Member Article

Venator welcomes new apprentices in local investment drive

Venator, the global experts in pigments and additives, headquartered at Wynyard in Stockton-on-Tees, has taken on three new apprentices from Hartlepool College of Further Education as part of its Apprenticeship Scheme.

Venator’s Apprenticeship Scheme covers all of its locations in the UK, involving a wide range of departments including engineering, research and development, and business administration. The scheme, which is currently supporting 18 UK apprenticeships, aims to provide apprentices with a highly transferable set of skills and experience. The three new apprentice roles are based at Venator’s Wynyard offices within their global Customer Services team.

Yolanda Naranjo, HR Talent Manager at Venator, said: “We’ve worked closely with Hartlepool College to create these new apprenticeship roles. The apprentices spend one day a week at the college and the remainder of the week at Venator, to gain vital work experience and an NVQ in Business Administration (Level 3). With our global headquarters being based in the North East of England, recruiting from the local Teesside community and investing in local talent is an absolute priority - helping upskill young people in the local area and contribute to their future success in the long term.”

Gary Riches, Head of Apprenticeships at Hartlepool College of Further Education, added: “A fundamental aim for us as a college is to secure meaningful employment for our students. It is amazing to have a global, New York Stock Exchange-listed company headquartered right here on our doorstep that provides our students with a fantastic opportunity to gain an apprenticeship, which will allow them to achieve a qualification, great experience and hopefully a permanent full-time job within a global company at the end of the program. We wish them luck as they embark on a very exciting journey and would like to thank Venator for working with us.”

Adam Suess, Customer Service Manager at Venator, also said: “I’m delighted to welcome the new recruits to my team. We’ve developed a specific apprenticeship framework that’s customised to the department they will work within. The apprenticeship programme is linked to our workforce planning where we identify areas of the business - such as Customer Services - where there is a need for young people who have the right attitude for learning and work according to our company values, that we can help develop and train.”

Another great example of the nurturing and innovative apprenticeship environment Venator provides is reflected at its Greatham manufacturing facility, in Hartlepool, where three apprentices were recently awarded for their achievements at the Technical Training Group (TTE) Celebrating Success Awards. Instrumentation Apprentice Joe Peacock won the Community Award for his outstanding work with local charities, Process Apprentice Jack Munt won Science Apprentice of the Year, and First Year Instrumentation Apprentice Jack Alderson won Science Industry Maintenance Technician of the Year.

As part of its apprenticeship programme, apprentices from Venator’s locations outside of the UK also visit its Wynyard offices for assignments. Most recently, two apprentices from Venator’s Duisburg manufacturing facility, Germany, transferred to Wynyard to gain experience working on an international level and to see how the business tailors its customer services according to each region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Banks .