Release date: October 19, 2021
James Robinson graduated with first class honors and got a promotion with BES. deserved
An apprentice at Rochdale-based BES Ltd earned a world-class honors degree from UCLan (University of Central Lancashire) after his employer enabled him to complete both an HNC and degree as part of his training.
James Robinson joined BES at the age of just 16 after completing a year of high school and resolving that he wanted to earn while studying rather than following a more traditional academic path.
After a few weeks of professional experience in the company that plans, designs and builds special systems for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, research and advanced manufacturing sectors, he was accepted into teaching.
For six years he has combined his activity as a prospective project engineer with his studies and despite the work pressure during his studies he graduated with honors and fought for a promotion.
James’ success is the latest in a longstanding training and apprenticeship program at BES that supports the company’s commitment to talent development and provides a work environment in which employees can advance their careers.
Of the 15 trainees who have been trained in the company over the last 19 years, seven are now in management positions in the company and have received support from BES through their training and studies.
James has now completed his apprenticeship and BES continues to develop its in-house skills by developing apprentices, one of which was hired during the pandemic as the company continued to grow.
James commented, “When I first came to BES for an internship, I never dreamed that I would still be here with a degree six years later. The company has supported me from the start, given me opportunities to learn from colleagues and take on responsibility, and enabled me to shape my career goals myself.
“I love my job as a project engineer and am very grateful to the colleagues who looked after me at work and helped me during my studies, and to BES for offering me a challenging and rewarding path to a career.”
James began his career at BES in the company’s design department as an architectural technologist apprentice and completed an HNC in construction and built environment from Blackburn College. Like all BES apprentices, he was given the opportunity to work in different departments to support multidisciplinary collaboration.
After enjoying his time in the engineering department, he switched his focus to the profession of project engineer and studied project management in construction at UCLAN. He has also expanded his skills and knowledge through a range of additional training courses, including occupational health and safety and various CPD (Continuous Professional Development) programs.
Steve Marsh, Managing Director at BES Ltd, added, “Developing our own talents and enabling our employees to develop their skills and careers is fundamental to our people strategy and corporate culture. We are a multidisciplinary team working in a very technical area of design and construction to provide business critical assets to customers.
“James has shown from the start that he is willing to learn, can work with colleagues, customers and supply chain partners, and is very motivated to meet the high quality standards on which the BES offering is based.
“The fact that he earned a world-class honors degree while also playing an important role in the workplace is a testament to both his hard work and the success of our ongoing training.”
