A HEXHAM-BASED business with an outstanding apprenticeship programme is going to represent the North-East at the National British Chambers of Commerce Awards in London on November 30.

Egger UK Limited, the wood-based materials manufacturer which is part of the Austrian-owned Egger Group, has an award-winning approach to both apprenticeships and overall employee training, with 10 per cent of its 600-strong Hexham workforce either currently, or have been, apprentices.

This year it has added to the 12 apprentices who are currently being trained in a range of departments from IT to engineering with eight new apprentices starting in September.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East England Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Egger to compete with the very best British businesses on the national stage.

“They have an outstanding track record in developing their own team and we wish them every success.

“Egger is without a doubt leading the way nationally in training
our next generation of skilled workers.”

The manufacturer’s mechanical maintenance apprentice team leader, Steven Walker, said: “Our apprentices learn the whole business inside and out, so they have skills across an unrivalled range of engineering disciplines.

“We go through a rigorous selection process for our engineering apprentices and the fact that the majority of them go on to have successful careers with us, shows how they are both valued and enjoy interesting roles here.”

The engineering team and apprentices benefit from a £4m engineering facility, built in 2013, which includes a state of the art training academy.

The company has recently introduced “Egger Kompakt”, an internal training programme, which is delivered by in-house experts, providing both cross-departmental knowledge transfer and personal development opportunities.

As well as the Hexham plant a further 123 employees work at the Egger Barony sister site in Auchinleck, Scotland.