APPRENTICESHIPS & PARTNERSHIPS

Wire Belt has been recruiting apprentices since 1978

Wire Belt has been recruiting apprentices since 1978 and we have built our long-term employment strategy using this leading method for work-based training. Our apprentices are acknowledged for their hard work and commitment to learning at The Kent and Medway Apprentice Graduation Ceremony at Rochester Cathedral for which we are proud to sponsor.

We pride ourselves on developing and nurturing the next generation of talent for the future. Apprenticeships have played a big part in our culture and values, and in 2016 we were extremely proud to win The Kent Excellence in Business ‘Apprenticeship of the Year Award.’ The judges were blown away by the commitment to apprenticeships shown by Wire Belt Company.

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Joe, started with Wire Belt over 3 years ago after doing a week’s work experience with the Company and has since passed his BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Operations & Maintenance Engineering with a double distinction and is continuing with City and Guilds Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering, Joe say’s “the course has taught me skills and abilities, such as programming and understanding equipment which aren’t given in the workplace. It has helped me be self-reliant in my skillset and assist others at work.”

Joe Warner, Trainee Apprentice Machinist Fitter 2018 to date

Wire Belt’s Innovation Value

There are numerous examples of apprentices and young people who have started their careers at Wire Belt and have gone on to have successful long-term careers with us. We continuously develop our apprentices with further opportunities even after they have graduated.

If you are a school leaver or looking to start an apprenticeship in our industry, Wire Belt could be the perfect place for you!

“Every apprentice we take on has a job they are focused towards; we have a vision from the outset of how we are employing our apprentice’s long term and developing them.

“Young people change over time. We have lots of different areas in the business and if a person shows interest in a certain area, we can enhance their training for them.”

Paul Walsh, Manufacturing Manager

Work Experience

Wire Belt provide work experience opportunities to students who have a real interest in manufacturing and engineering. The students spend one or two weeks with Wire Belt gaining hands on experience using the machines and making Wire Belt products and items of their own design.

We find this gives students a real experience of working life. We also ensure we include commercial parts of our business in work experience and can offer this in other departments.

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“It really stretched my confidence, I was able to try new things and not feel like I was failing at anything, I was doing it and doing it quite well. I made a little toolbox with the fabrication team, we got to cut out the material and bend it to the right shape, and weld everything together, which was a very fun and exciting experience.” Hugh Austen.

“We were genuinely both amazed and thrilled at the itinerary put together for his week ahead. It is so encouraging that your company takes so seriously and puts great care and enthusiasm in to training and developing young people in the field of engineering. We feel very fortunate that Hugh found himself at Wire Belt for his work experience week. Every day he came home he talked with pride and in great detail about what he had done. This opportunity has been a great boost to his confidence, from the initial phone call inquiring about a possible placement to having his photo taken with senior members of the team when he went back to collect his toolbox. All valuable experiences and have helped him consider additional possibilities affecting his future career. He was actually sad to go back to school!!” Caroline Austen, Hugh’s mum.

Hugh Austen, age 15, work experience in the engineering department.

Careers Fairs

Wire Belt feel that it is vital to the future success of the engineering and manufacturing sector to ensure that children and young people understand the career paths and options available to them, the different routes to further education, the local careers that are available to them; and that school leavers have a good level of STEM education and are suitably prepared for entering the work environment.

Educational Visits to Our Factory

Wire Belt have worked with local schools for many years.

We offer factory visits to give greater understanding of what the company does, and how our product goes from manufacture to sale. We want to set the scene and create a spark of interest that will then form the start of a successful career.

The visit includes a tour of the workshop, STEM activities to stimulate thinking and ideas to gain knowledge on strength of materials, design ideas and the importance of structure.

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Brands We Work With

Wire Belt believes in team-work and equal opportunities for all. The Company prides itself on the quality of the product it designs and manufactures and is committed to developing and motivating its employees to enable them to achieve a high standard of workmanship. All employees regardless in which capacity they joined the company are important to our success.

We are proud to have built a reputation for delivering quality products with good customer service and as a result, have built up strong relationships with a variety of leading household brands.

We also work with a worldwide network of distributors who represent us and our products in every continent.

Our company vision is to become the most preferred, respected, and trusted metal conveyor belt company in the world, and we are extremely proud to be working with a large portfolio of big-name brands. The supply of our conveyor equipment assists them to produce their products efficiently and to a high standard and our aim is to continue delivering a first-class service, whilst increasing our worldwide portfolio all helping to make our vision a reality!