Keith Tidmarsh

Apprentice Training Manager at Springfields Fuels Ltd, Preston

“Springfields Fuels is committed to the training of Engineering apprentices and sees the Apprenticeship programme as an investment for the future of the organisation’s maintenance and engineering teams, who enable the continuing operation of production equipment.

“We have been training apprentices since 1950 and have more recently opened our facilities up to apprentices from other organisations in our industry. The training that our apprentices receive is vital to ensure that our skills match the needs of technology, both today and tomorrow, as well as contributing to the ultimate success of our business.

“Springfields Fuels currently has 89 apprentices on the Engineering programme, 35 of which are our employees and I would certainly encourage other employers to follow suit. It’s extremely difficult to find staff that exactly match what you are looking for and we have found the ‘grow your own’ approach to be far more effective. Employing apprentices is a long-term approach to recruiting the best staff, but is one we have found to be most beneficial to the continued success of Springfields Fuels.”