Leading manufacturer joins Made in Chesterfield campaign
Another Chesterfield manufacturer, Blachford Acoustics Group, has pledged its support to the town’s campaign to get more young people interested in careers involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
A leading manufacturer of acoustic sound solutions, the company is part of the global Blachford group and employs more than 100 staff at its Holmewood facility.
Blachford is one of a number of businesses from the town’s manufacturing and engineering sector who have thrown their weight behind the Made in Chesterfield campaign which is coordinated by Destination Chesterfield and Derbyshire Education Business Partnership.
The campaign, which was established in 2014, is designed to bring together employers in the manufacturing and engineering sector with schools and education providers. It is run in partnership with University of Derby, MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar Ltd, Natwest, and Placing Futures and has already been credited with helping increase the number of students studying STEM subjects at Chesterfield College from 265 in 2017 to 440 in 2018.
As part of their involvement in the campaign, Blachford will be welcoming school groups to its Holmewood site and hosting behind-the-scenes tours. A number of Blachford staff are also STEM ambassadors and will be visiting North Derbyshire’s schools to deliver careers talks.
Commenting on the company’s decision to support the Made in Chesterfield campaign, Stephen Hutt, Operations Director of Blachford UK said: “The manufacturing sector offers golden opportunities for careers, unfortunately many young people are unaware of the breadth of job roles available. By supporting the Made in Chesterfield campaign we hope to reach out to young people in North Derbyshire and ignite their interest in manufacturing and in a career at Blachford and the sector as a whole.”
Blachford now joins an exciting line-up of companies and organisations, including United Cast Bar, MSE Hiller, Kingfield Electronics, Aztec Oils, Penny Hydraulics, Chesterfield Police and Trans-Tronic who have all opened their doors to teachers and pupils to help them discover more about careers and jobs on offer in the sector.
Ivan Fomin, Managing Director of MSE Hiller and Destination Chesterfield board member responsible for manufacturing and engineering in the Borough, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Blachford onboard with the Made in Chesterfield campaign. It’s a time of huge growth and opportunity for Chesterfield and to make the most of opportunities, like HS2, Chesterfield Waterside and Peak Resort, it’s important that the town has the people with the right skills and experience – and manufacturing and engineering feature heavily in this mix.
“Getting more businesses from the sector on board and opening more lines of communication between businesses, education providers and schools couldn’t be more important.”
Blachford’s commitment to recruiting new talent to the sector doesn’t stop at Made in Chesterfield. The company is offering three degree level apprenticeships to young people leaving school this year.
To find out more about Made in Chesterfield and how you or your school can get involved, please visit: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/made/.
