Sheffield Forgemasters welcomes 18 apprentices

Sheffield Forgemasters has welcomed 18 new apprentices as it continues its £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme and investment in future engineering skills.

The new recruits secured places following around 700 applications and will combine practical experience at the Ministry of Defence-owned company with fully funded training towards professional qualifications.

This year’s intake spans disciplines including metallurgy, CNC programming, non-destructive testing, maintenance, project management, environmental, steel melting, machining and dimensional inspection.

Laura Hooper, people and culture director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We have approximately 780 employees, ten per cent of whom are apprentices at any one time, as we build the future workforce and continue developing our capabilities.

“Sheffield Forgemasters’ transformation is enabling us to deliver a new level of training as we embrace a high-technology engineering sphere and create an advanced, comfortable working environment for our employees to enjoy.

“Our workforce is now being trained to understand and capitalise on the pioneering technologies and workplace advancements that recapitalisation will provide, helping the business to meet the future demands of defence manufacture, and other areas such as civil nuclear.

“It is always a joy to welcome a new cohort of apprentices to site for the first time and to see so much enthusiasm, curiosity and determination already shining through for their future careers.”

The apprentices join as Sheffield Forgemasters expands its workforce and invests in new plant, training and equipment to support the delivery of complex components for the UK defence programme, including the new SSN-AUKUS submarines.

Investment across its Sheffield site includes a new 13,000-tonne forge line and associated building, alongside major machine tool replacements within a new 30,000sq m machining facility.

Sheffield Forgemasters specialises in the design and manufacture of high-integrity forgings and castings, supplying sectors including defence, marine, civil nuclear, offshore, renewables and power generation.

The latest intake forms part of its wider investment in developing the specialist skills required to support its growing manufacturing capabilities and long-term project pipeline.

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