Sackers Recycling has held two weeks of work experience for young adults via the Inspire Step Up programme.

The course is designed to provide young people between 16-24 years the opportunity to gain industry related training and qualifications. It is a stepping stone into employment by gaining experience and skills they can use to apply for jobs.  

Five young adults completed the full course after they had achieved training at Sackers. This included the Sackers Think Smart plan which covers theory in Health and Safety, Asbestos awareness, Hand protection, Eye protection combined with practical training in the yard.  The practical training covered dealing with end-of-life vehicles which involved depolluting them, removing fluids like oil, petrol, water and stripping wheels, catalytic converters, batteries.  They also had training in the metal shed.

Out of the five candidates who got their certificate, Sackers have employed three. Tyler, who is 20, will be working in the metal shed learning about metal types and dealing with customers who bring their metal waste in said: “I had confidence that if I worked hard I might get a position here which I’m really pleased about”. Ryan (21) will be on the picking line on the metal shredder, sorting metals. Dani, (20) years will go on to a Level 3 Apprenticeship.

Kevin Harrington, Compliance Manager, who was overseeing the training says: “This was very new to us, and it was more successful than we could have ever expected it to be. We had good calibre of students all willing to learn and were reliable and engage. I was really impressed”.

Adrian Dodds, MD added: “Recruiting is hard at the moment, so it’s important that we invest in giving these young adults opportunities to grow and support them into careers. We are lucky that we have a varied business that allowed them to try different areas and we could see where their skills were”.

Garry Mills, Education Progammes Manager said:  “We have run many of these courses in different sectors, but this is the first time we’ve delivered a waste training programme. Sackers have worked closely with us to deliver great training for those on the 2 weeks experience. We are so proud of what these students have achieved and couldn’t ask for a better outcome”.