There is no doubt the metals recycling industry is top-heavy with age and experience, and it has always been difficult to attract young talent, never mind retain it.

It is not through a lack of trying, either.

Like many companies in the recycling sector, Hereford-based Wye Valley Group is happy to open its doors and show youngsters some of the processes that make it one of the greenest companies in the county.

However, schools and colleges are either reluctant to organise visits because of lack of staff, timetabling issues or simply the cost of transportation.

“There is a measure of frustration in the lack of engagement from schools and colleges, as there is so much to show, and old-fashioned negative narratives about scrap and waste facilities to dispel,” said the Group’s marketing manager Simon Milham.

“Over 99 per cent of what comes into our Eastside Recycling Facility can be recycled or recovered, while 99 per cent of people still think the majority of waste goes to ‘landfill’.

“Likewise, when you mention another of our companies, Hereford Quarries, people assume negative connotations. They need to be educated that the extraction of sand and gravel is a valuable and necessary resource for the local economy, which would otherwise be imported from outside the county.

“In addition to winning local virgin aggregates. Hereford Quarries produces quality secondary aggregates from inert waste materials arising from the construction sector. This process via our wash plant produces materials that conform to the WRAP protocol, removing the material from any waste classification into a compliant substitute to virgin aggregates. This plant since commissioning in 2017 has washed circa 1.2 million tonnes of material.”

Though the Group is attempting to live up to its ‘Building For a More Sustainable Future’ mantra, going on the offensive is a must and teaming up with the likes of the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Group Training Association has thankfully yielded positive results.

“Local schools do have careers evenings and we always want to be near the top of the list, as we are a big local employer in the city and we have so many different career options for youngsters. It may not be a ‘sexy’ industry, but the circular economy is thankfully growing and with it are the opportunities, especially for young people,” Milham added.

“Plus, there is some great young talent out there. For example, Daniel Stanton joined us as an apprentice at 17 and has worked his way through to become a key individual in the organisation, as Commercial and Operations Assistant, and at 19, Sam Ellison has joined the company to set up Lamorak Plant Ltd, our engineering workshop. Lamorak Plant employees also include two young HGV and Plant workshop maintenance apprentices; Bryn Twiston-Davies and Lewis Devereux, who are now on career paths that will give them valuable skills in the future. 

Like many youngsters, Stanton, now 26, had no career plan.

He said: “I did IT in college and left when I was 17 – I’d finished my first year. I was at home with my mum and dad. There was no incentive to progress and do something else.

“I was pot-washing at a local pub and received a letter from the council basically saying I had to do something with my life.

“They said that Herefordshire and Worcestershire Group Training Association had an open day for people to go and look at getting engineering apprenticeships, bricklaying apprenticeships. That wasn’t really me.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do – nobody does. I hadn’t a clue. The HWGTA suggested a business administration course, an apprenticeship.

“I ended up writing a CV to them and they dished it out to local companies, one of them was Wye Valley Group.

“I didn’t really have anything going for me. I did the full year of the apprenticeship and they kept me on for another apprenticeship which was customer

service, working on the weighbridge.

“I was so introverted; I did not want to speak to anybody. I would not have willingly done it, but I was getting paid for it.

“That weighbridge role really was being thrown in the deep end – it forced me to speak to 60 or 70 people per day. It was a huge confidence-builder for me. My people skills went through the roof.

“It really opened my shell and really has changed who I am.”

Stanton, who has two WAMITAB (Waste & Resource Management) qualifications and is studying for two more, added: “I’ve been here since November 2015 and throughout I’ve been in some sort of training, some sort of investment. “

“There is always development, there is never a dull time.”

Wye Valley Group prides itself on unearthing talented youngsters, even if they have few designs on working in waste management.

“When you are in school and someone asks, ‘what do you want to be?’, working for a waste site is going to be pretty low on the list. No-one ever says that,” added Stanton.

“The benefit is definitely job security. Working for an employer like this, I know there is always something to fall back on. I know I can come to work and go home with a payslip on a Friday, and know I will come back in one piece as well.

“Without this place, I wouldn’t know where I would be. Because of Wye Valley Group, I was able to move out, rent my first place and, two years ago, I was able to secure a mortgage and I’m in a much better place than some people my age.”