PEOPLE WATCH
KMF celebrates apprenticeships
UK sheet metal specialist , KMF Group , celebrated eight of its young engineers this year at its annual awards event . This year , the event was held at KMF ’ s head office with apprentices and staff invited in person whilst parents and guardians were able to watch on a live stream from home . This enabled the company to go ahead with the awards whilst keeping it COVID-safe .
This year ’ s winner of the big prize , Josh Clewlow ( 20 ), Level 3 Apprentice and KMF Apprentice of the Year , commented : “ I didn ’ t think I ’ d win it but it ’ s great to have been chosen to receive it . The event was great , really well organised and as good as any other award nights have been before .”
On working at KMF as an apprentice , he added : “ It ’ s a great apprenticeship . It challenges you and helps you to learn and grow . I enjoy working with the other apprentices ; we all have similar hobbies and interests . I hope to stay on at KMF after my apprenticeship and want to progress to management eventually . KMF is good at supporting progression so I ’ m sure it ’ s achievable . I ’ m looking forward to finishing my apprenticeship so I can start to progress .”
KMF ’ s new award , ‘ The John Booth Academic Achievement Award ’, was created in honour of ex-employee , John Booth , who sadly passed away suddenly in February 2021 . Aged 65 , John joined KMF and was integral to setting up the KMF training facility . He worked with KMF for ten years before retiring , aged 75 . The award was created to solely focus on academia . The team at KMF wanted to recognise an apprentice every year who has grown and developed academically . Twentyyear-old Ryan Hewitt , who joined in 2019 and has just started his Level 3 apprenticeship , was the inaugural winner of this award .
Servosteel in the UK has confirmed the appointment of Steve Dickens as its commercial director from 1 December 2021 , bringing the appointment forward from April 2022 . “ We had previously discussed a date of April 2022 for this appointment but , given the progress and impact that Steve has made since his return
KMF production director , Daniel Higgins , and Matt Sanderson ( right ).
Ryan joined KMF with a Grade 3 in GCSE Mathematics , which is accepted for a Level 2 apprenticeship but doesn ’ t meet the minimum requirement to begin a Level 3 apprenticeship . To progress to Level 3 , Ryan had to attend college one day per week to get his Functional Skills qualification . He did this
KMF MD Gareth Higgins ( left ) and Josh Clewlow .
whilst also working and doing his higher Mathematics .
Jenny Johnston , KMF ’ s people and culture manager , said : “ For Ryan to be completing two maths courses as well as his apprenticeship fulltime , not letting any slip and passing them all with flying colours , is quite an achievement . His commitment is incredible and we ’ re all impressed with his dedication .”
Matt Sanderson , ( 22 ), final year Level 3 Apprentice , won the ‘ Time Keeping and Attendance Award ’. He was also recognised by his peers at the award event for being ‘ The Most Valuable Team Member ’.
to the business , we are delighted to bring the appointment forward . We would like to congratulate Steve and wish him every success in his new role ,” said the company , a major UK independent steel toll processor ( and one-stop steel shop ) with an annual capacity of over 500,000 tonnes .
Its processing facilities include
Right to left : Ewan Spooner , Dan Barlow , Kyle Marshall and production manager , Chris Meyrick .
Servosteel appoints new commercial director
Three apprentices received a Team Leader Choice Award , chosen by the KMF Production Team . Those chosen scored consistently highly throughout the year on work ethic , communication , development in work skills and personal development as well as showing a good attitude . Kyle Marshall ( 17 ) won it for the Level 2 group ; Dan Barlow ( 19 ) won the First Year Level 3 group and Ewan Spooner ( 21 ) won for the Second Year Level 3 group .
Jenny Jones added : “ We currently have 30 apprentices at KMF and any one of them would be worthy winners . They are all hard working , dedicated young people who show great commitment to KMF . This year ’ s six winners were chosen because they go above and beyond . They work incredibly hard and continue to stand out for all the right reasons . We ’ re really proud of our apprentices and can ’ t wait to start the process of recruiting so we can meet the next cohort to follow in some fantastic footsteps .”
The company is now opening applications for 16 sheet metal fabrication apprentices for its 2022 cohort . n
three slitting lines ; two decoiling lines ; a coil pickling line ; a blanking line and “ the UK ’ s only coil recovery line ”. In recent years , the company has made significant investments in laser services . n
Steve Dickens .
12 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR March 2022