Record apprentice intake for Renishaw

The announcement was made at Renishaw's annual Apprentice Day held recently at which it made awards to existing apprentices and welcomed new starters and their families. Opening the day, Chris Pockett, Renishaw's head of communications, congratulated the new intake for successfully obtaining a Renishaw apprenticeship in a year in which over 200 applications were received by the company. "Whilst apprenticeships today are once again being given their rightful respect and prominence by the government and media, at Renishaw they have never been out of fashion. We started our first apprenticeship scheme in 1979, and even during the very difficult times, including the recent recession, we continued to recruit apprentices. So our commitment to training and the development of young people is clear." Mr Pockett also highlighted that Renishaw's founders Sir David McMurtry and John Deer are former apprentices and that many apprentices and sponsored students have achieved senior positions within the company, including Gareth Hankins, director of the company's Group Manufacturing Services Division, who joined Renishaw as an apprentice, aged 16. During the day, Dave Wallace, himself a former sponsored student and now director of one of Renishaw's largest business divisions, presented the annual apprenticeship prizes. Roxanne Pollard won the Bryon Wherrett award for best second year apprentice; Tom Silvey and Taz Pannett were named as joint winners of the Bryon Wherrett award for best third year apprentice; and Alex Didcott received the Gary Peake shield for best fourth year apprentice. Additional to the craft, technical and software apprenticeships and graduate appointments, Renishaw still has UK vacancies for around 120 engineering roles, 90 of which are at its five sites within Gloucestershire. Pictured: some of this year's intake