Award-winning Chepstow-based engineering firm, Reid Lifting, is taking on apprentices for the first time in its 17 year history.

Having been honoured with two Queen’s Awards – for international trade and innovation – as well as being named Company of the Year at the Monmouthshire Business Awards, Reid Lifting is setting its sights on expanding.

The company, which is based at the Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate, has been working with Semta, the employer-led body engineering skills for the future, to recruit its first apprentice.

And it was managing director Nick Battersby’s son Tim who was the successful candidate.

Now Mr Battersby is planning to take on an apprentice in each of the next three years to capitalise on the company’s growing order book.

“We are seeing continued growth and we need skilled labour,” he said.

“The time was right for us to train our own people for our specific requirements.”

Employing 22 people with a turnover of around £3.1m, Reid Lifting is a leading designer and manufacturer of lightweight, portable lifting equipment across a range of sectors, including waste water treatment, civil engineering, construction and hospitals.

The company was formed in 1996 after Jim Reid first researched causes of lifting injuries in the water industry.

It was at the ‘Time to talk Apprenticeships’ breakfast event, run by the Welsh Government in Cardiff during National Apprenticeship Week earlier this year that Mr Battersby met Semta and the decision was taken to recruit.

Semta’s experts were able to advise on the Welsh Government’s apprenticeship funding schemes, on apprenticeship frameworks as well as providing information on typical apprentice wages and contact details of providers.

Mr Battersby said: “We didn’t really know the ins and outs of apprenticeships so Semta were a real help in signposting us in the right direction.

"They came to see us and guided us through the process, which ended in Tim being employed.”

Working with Newport and District Group Training Association, Tim is undergoing block release training and has no regrets about choosing to become an apprentice.

The 22-year-old, who had been studying at Kingston University, said: “Halfway through my degree I felt that it was not panning out as I had hoped. I didn’t think the theoretical work would get me to where I wanted to be for engineering.

“I decided to go down the apprenticeship route to get more practical knowledge and it has been great so far – I am learning so much and it’s not so bad working for my dad.”

Ann Watson, chief operating officer for Semta, said: “We are delighted that Reid Lifting – an SME which has recently won two prestigious Queen’s Awards – has taken on an apprentice.

“We know there is a need for at least 82,000 apprentices across the UK just to cope with the number of retirements in 2017. Investing in skills is vital to the future of advanced manufacturing and engineering.

“We hope other firms in Wales will follow Reid’s example and work with Semta to keep the skills pipeline flowing.”