Developing the North East’s young talent

On 23 April the Hardwick Hall Hotel in Sedgefield witnessed the presentation of the 2015 North East Business Awards. The winner of the Apprenticeship category was Co Durham-based Hodgson Sayers.

Managing director John Sayers expressed his delight at the award. 'This is a tremendous accolade for the business,' he said, 'as we have always had a commitment to ensuring we source the very best youngsters and provide them with the skills to bridge the gap in the construction industry.

'As key figures within our management team started as apprentices themselves, it is with great satisfaction that we seek out youngsters from the North East talent pool and watch them not only take forward their own careers but also help to shape the way we as a company move forward. Our apprentices bring us innovation and creativity and help us to develop a future workforce. That mix of experience and young talent is powerful.'

Last year the company pledged that apprentices would count for 10% of its workforce. That figure was actually surpassed, and they are on track to do the same this year.

John Sayers continued: 'Youngsters can often get a hard time in the press when it comes to work ethic, but from my experience our apprentices know that they have to graft to get results. It is instilled into them from day one. Their contract managers were themselves apprentices and know how to mentor and shape the new generation so that we are fair but firm in our guidance.'

Hodgson Sayers was founded in 1979, primarily as a roofing contractor. Over the years, however, they have developed and diversified considerably to include building works, fencing, metalwork fabrication and the installation of solar photovoltaics.

During that 35-year history they have worked on a vast range of heritage properties across the North of England, including Wray Castle in Cumbria (pictured). Many of them have been very challenging and certainly all were very different. They also provided opportunities for the company's apprentices to develop their skills, under the watchful eye of senior tradespeople and contracts managers.

Hodgson Sayers also backed local paper The Journal's Pay Fair campaign, encouraging all contractors to pay suppliers in a timely fashion, and they are an active member of the North East Institute of Business and Ethics. In the past 12 months they have also been named in the Ward Hadaway-sponsored 'Fastest 50 growing companies' and were acknowledged by the London Stock Exchange as one of the 1,000 companies to inspire Britain.

From a commercial perspective, innovation remains a key focus and the company has entered into a successful partnership with Teesside University, having welcomed post-graduate student Kin Ma to the team. Kin is currently leading on the Knowledge Transfer Partnership - a three-way partnership between a university, business and a graduate - and is overseen by a KTP advisor, acting on behalf of Innovate UK.

Said John Sayers: 'We recognised that there was a movement towards Building Information Modelling (BIM), but that did not seem to incorporate the building refurbishment sector, where we felt there was a definite requirement to service our existing and potential client needs. We look forward to introducing the benefits of this into our service offering during 2015.'

The emphasis remains with the people in the business. Last year the company became the first in the North East construction sector to become Living Wage Accredited.
John Sayers explained: 'We wanted to ensure that people who work for us have, at the very least, a comfortable lifestyle and are not financially burdened.

'First and foremost, our people will remain our number one priority as it is their drive and creativity that takes us forward. Without their willingness to share the journey we would cease to progress.'

For further information visit www.hodgson-sayers.co.uk