Further expansion of HETA’s industrial training centre is being planned after its 2021 intake broke records spanning 50 years.
The engineering apprenticeship provider is preparing a major addition to the Dansom Lane site, where £4.5 million was invested in 2018, after more than 800 applications came in for 200 places.
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Iain Elliott, chief executive, said: “This has been a record-breaking year with unprecedented numbers of applications for apprenticeship and traineeship places.
“That resulted in nearly 200 young men and women commencing on programme, including over 130 apprentices beginning their training in August. The demand from employers is unparalleled and is welcome evidence that they have seen the very real benefit of recruiting apprentices as part of their succession planning strategies.”
HETA was formed in Hull in 1967 by 10 companies. As a charity which continues to be employer-led, it expanded to open a second training centre as part of the beacon training complex Catch, at Stallingborough, near Grimsby, and then a third in Scunthorpe.
The Hull headquarters relocated to purpose-built premises at Sutton Fields Industrial Estate in 1978 and again three years ago. It offers traineeships as well as apprenticeships in mechanical and electrical engineering and fabrication and welding.
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Joanne Lawson, deputy chief executive, will lead the new project. She said: “The investment which we have committed since moving into our Hull site shows that HETA will not sit on our laurels.
“Further investment has brought the addition of high voltage training courses and a process plant which became the only facility of its kind available on the north bank of the Humber when it was shipped from Australia in 2020. We expect to be able to announce details soon of another transformational project which will enable us to build our capacity to deliver high-quality vocational learning.”
HETA is also planning to add to its board of trustees, with applications invited from people in business who can bolster the board’s skills in finance and accounting.
Mr Elliott added: “We work with more than 350 employers and will ensure that, despite the impact of Brexit and Covid, they have a wider talent pool of individuals with the skills required to support the sector with effective and timely succession planning.
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“The support of our board of trustees is essential and we are looking now to recruit one more person with the additional financial and accounting skills we need. We want to hear from people who may be working in in a finance function in an engineering or manufacturing company or for an accountancy, audit or professional services firms in the area – and who is keen to help our management team improve what we can offer learners and employers.”
He has also urged school leavers to focus on their studies as competition intensifies for places.
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“We received over 850 applications for this year’s cohort and even though we recruited a record number of just under 200 that gives people only a one-in-four chance of being successful.
“Recruitment for next September starts in October and, as a specialist provider, we know places will once again be very much sought after and in great demand. We will again be looking for the very best talent in the region and GCSE results will be critical in our selection policy for this coming year.
“I would encourage anyone considering applying to HETA to look out for the opening of recruitment in October and to work hard over the next year to ensure you achieve the very best grades you can.”
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