In October, Pruce Newman played host to the new Chief Executive of the ECITB, Chris Claydon.
As Chris settles into his new role, he’s been visiting in-scope companies to gain a deeper understanding of the issues which Engineering Construction businesses face across the breadth of the industry. At Pruce Newman, we work with customers in a number of sectors, and our wide-ranging experience and close links with the ECITB at a regional level give us unparalleled insight into the opportunities and challenges the industry faces in today’s changing marketplace.
In a session led by MD Graham Newman, Chris, along with colleagues Matt Knights and Phil Jeffries, spent time discussing the importance of training and development in a successful business such as ours, and the role that the ECITB plays in ensuring that Pruce Newman has the highly skilled workforce it needs to meet customer demand.
Following the meeting, Graham commented that:
“It is good to know that Chris wanted to learn more about what we Levy paying companies do and how the ECITB could assist in the development of our staff and therefore our business. The fact that we were chosen as a leading example of an Engineering Construction contractor working in sectors away from offshore oil and gas was good to know and was confirmation of the strength of our strategy of working across a mix of industries. The opportunity to meet and talk to Chris about the strengths and weaknesses of the ECITB grants and training priorities processes was invaluable.”
In addition to visiting our Norfolk Head Office and fabrication facility, the group also paid a visit to one of our clients, heading over to British Sugar’s Wissington site to view some of the major projects carried out by Pruce Newman in partnership with British Sugar. The range of activities carried out at Wissington, which is the largest beet sugar factory in the world, made a significant impression on Chris, who said:
“I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the British Sugar operation at Wissington with my hosts from Pruce Newman Pipework. The plant is one of the most diverse and innovative of its kind, making comprehensive use of the company’s assets. The high quality work being done by Pruce Newman Pipework at Wissington is a vital part of the plant’s success and is an excellent example of the results that are achieved by a highly skilled workforce. Ensuring we have the skilled workforce in the future to support these businesses is critical and we look forward to our ongoing relationship with Pruce Newman Pipework to maintain that.”
We were only too pleased to host Chris and his colleagues on the day, and wish him every success in his role as Chief Executive of the ECITB. We would also like to thank Stephen Ward, Senior Project Manager at British Sugar Wissington for his time and enthusiasm in supporting us in showing Chris examples of the work carried out by Pruce Newman at the site, and the importance of a skilled Engineering Construction Industry to support major manufacturers like British Sugar in building, developing and maintaining their operational assets.
