FEATURE
Plans- CF Fertilisers’ maintenance execution manager Joe Olley, maintenance manager Manuel Marques and construction and turnaround manager James Middleton.
technologies and environments, where they can immerse themselves in development opportunities that many regional employers cannot offer.
Leadership and employee development What truly differentiates CF is its commitment to developing people.
The company’ s employee engagement and development programmes continue to focus on learning, career progression and wellbeing.
Recent initiatives include enhanced technical training, supervisor development programmes, equipment-specific technician training and structured career progression pathways.
Our maintenance leadership is focused on building a capable, engaged workforce that can support the next generation of industrial operations.
By combining long‐established expertise with continuous upskilling and modernisation, we are creating a function that is both dependable and forward‐thinking.
Developing the next generation of talent Another key part of futureproofing our business is investing in the people who will operate, maintain and improve the industrial assets of tomorrow.
This starts through our STEM outreach programme, supported by our Inclusion Resource Group( IRG), where our goal is to engage and inspire the youngest learners with STEM subjects.
For school leavers, the business and maintenance team is actively supporting the development of future engineering
talent through apprenticeships, mentoring and academic sponsorship programmes.
We have close relationships with education providers and organisations, including Middlesbrough College and the North East STEM Foundation, and these initiatives help strengthen the regional skills base while creating opportunities for local people to build rewarding careers in industry.
During 2024 and 2025, the maintenance function supported 10 apprentices across key engineering disciplines, including electrical, instrumentation and mechanical engineering.
Five of them successfully completed their programmes and secured technician roles within the business, two remain in training and we supported the remaining three in finding opportunities within the wider engineering supply chain, ensuring their skills and experience continued to benefit the industry.
The team also sponsored three engineering scholars in electrical, mechanical and instrumentation & control engineering – disciplines essential to modern manufacturing. These scholars are now progressing into apprenticeship roles, further strengthening the function’ s talent pipeline.
These programmes reflect CF’ s longterm commitment to developing capability rather than simply recruiting it. By creating structured pathways into engineering careers, we are helping to ensure that Teesside retains the technical skills needed to support its industrial future.
For apprentices and students, the opportunity to learn within one of the
UK’ s most established manufacturing businesses provides exposure to world-class engineering practices, complex process plant technology and experienced professionals with decades of industry knowledge.
For us the benefits are equally important. As technologies evolve and industrial operations become increasingly digital, developing the next generation of engineers and technicians helps ensure that CF continues to have the skills required in an ever-evolving industry.
The result is a powerful partnership between industry, education and the local community, supporting both business sustainability and regional prosperity.
Looking ahead The future of manufacturing will demand greater agility, smarter technologies and increasingly skilled workforces. CF Fertilisers is embracing that challenge, perfectly exemplified by its maintenance team evolving from a traditional support function into a strategic enabler of business performance.
As Manuel Marques simply states:“ Across our entire UK business, we have a clear vision for the future. Our investment in people, systems and technologies is to ensure we remain competitive, resilient and relevant for decades to come, and uphold our reputation as one of the region’ s leading employers.”
CF Fertilisers has always been part of Teesside’ s industrial story. Today, it is helping write its next chapter.
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