TECH
PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
The future – Durata ’ s apprentices Lewis Allan , Connor McKittrick , Kaitlyn Sedgewick and Marcus Green , who were allowed to dress down as part of the firm ’ s Platinum Jubilee celebrations .
POWERING THE NEXT GENERATION
Durata delivering message across Tees to smash stereotypes
WORDS : PAUL FRASER
Meeting – members of the Durata board meet at the firm ’ s TeesAMP premises in Middlesbrough .
62 | Tees Business
Anyone who has kept an eye on the progress of Durata over the last year or so will have seen its branding pop up regularly on the sporting stage .
What you might not have been aware of is the growing presence of the critical infrastructure specialists in the classroom .
It ’ s not that Durata ’ s managing director
John McGee has suddenly become a teacher , just that his evergrowing Middlesbroughbased company is doing more and more in the community .
At Durata there has been a desire to let the next generation know that there could be a career out there for them – a job that they might not even have thought about .
“ It is about challenging gender stereotypes in schools and colleges ,” said Alison McGee , Durata ’ s quality director .
Alison and Alison Welford , Durata ’ s electrical estimator , are driving the message that there are jobs on Teesside for women in the power industry and beyond .
But Durata ’ s overall push into the education sector and in the community is not just about gender equality , it is also aimed at highlighting to children that there are pathways to success in careers that may not necessarily appeal to people at a young age .
While Durata ’ s logo has appeared on the number one pro-continental cycling team in the UK , Ribble Weldtite , on the back of Hartlepool United ’ s away shirt , and the shorts of the area ’ s very own boxing world champion , Savannah Marshall , it is also more familiar to children on Teesside .
Durata is visiting schools and colleges to get their message across . It is also involved with Spark Tees Valley , which supports schools in delivering an engaging curriculum that develops cultural capital effectively . The Tees AMP firm will also attend
STEMFest NetZero at St James ’ Park in July