FEATURE
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURE : TOM BANKS
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Apprentice Lennan starts Group Industrial scheme
W hen Group Industrial MD Mike Marsh joined British Steel as a 17-year-old , little did he realise it was setting him on the path to starting his own business .
After a decade of experience working in the scaffolding and access sectors , he formed his own industrial recruitment company .
And by 2017 , that company had evolved into Group Industrial UK , the Middlesbrough-based firm that ’ s gaining a growing national reputation for delivering high-quality industrial services .
But just as Mike embarked on his working life as a teenager , Group Industrial is now giving a 17-yearold the same sort of opportunity he enjoyed , by setting up its own apprenticeship scheme .
Lennan Jones has become the firm ’ s first apprentice and there may be more to come . For Mike feels that bringing in young blood and nurturing the talent of the future is a way of continuing Group Industrial ’ s expansion , as well as demonstrating his commitment to Teesside .
And in a quirk of fate , young Lennan will be treading a similar path to his mentor , Group Industrial engineering operations manager Jamie Burke-Hill , as both had the same college tutor .
Lennan did a year at TTE before landing his Group Industrial apprenticeship in electrical installation . Working alongside a team of technicians , he will gain practical site experience , as well as learning all the theory . He ’ s also been receiving safety training at Group ’ s Dawson ’ s Wharf HQ .
He ’ ll be based at one of the key sites Group works on , MGT Teesside on the Tees REP biomass power station at Teesport , where site manager Denis Wright will oversee his progress .
The apprenticeship , which is government-funded , is for four years . And for Mike , taking on an apprentice is another key step in Group Industrial ’ s growth .
He said : “ We ’ re confident enough in the company ’ s development to implement an apprentice programme , which is something we ’ ve not done before .
“ We could have just drafted in more contractors as and when we needed them , but I ’ m always very keen to promote Teesside .
“ I like to use a local workforce , and having an apprenticeship scheme is a natural progression from that .
“ This will be our model going forward and we ’ ll look at it to assess how it ’ s going .
“ If it ’ s a success , it ’ s manageable and everyone ’ s getting something out of it , as we look to the future it will be something we can continue with and develop .
“ It ’ s a bit of a learning process for us but , hopefully , this time next year we will be able to take another apprentice on , maybe more .”
And for Lennan , it ’ s an opportunity he ’ s keen to make the most of . He said : “ I feel really fortunate to get this opportunity with Group Industrial . I ’ ll be doing my very best to learn as much as I can and complete my apprenticeship successfully .”
Jamie Burke-Hill added : “ It ’ s nice to see the commitment from Mike and Group Industrial to an apprentice scheme . Having had similar support in the past myself , I can appreciate how much of an opportunity this is for Lennan and I hope this is the start of something that becomes a permanent feature with the company .”
Certainly , Lennan joins a company whose flexibility and willingness to take on new tasks continues to pay dividends .
With the economy opening , more opportunities are presenting
80 | Tees Business