On Thursday 17th July 2025, CATCH Apprenticeships hosted their glittering End of Year Awards Afternoon, recognising the hard work and dedication of the 2024-2025 Apprentice Cohort.

Held at the Beachcomber in Cleethorpes, apprentices, employers, family and staff alike attended to see who would walk away with the coveted “Apprentice of the Year” Award.

Awards were also given for Practical Competency, Most Improved and Academic Achievement within each trade, as well as the overall Above and Beyond Award, and CATCH Champion.

Please join us in congratulating our 2025 winners:

Process Operations (Dakota)

Academic Achievement – Thomas Nurse (Croda)

Practical Competency – Harry Radford (Lenzing)

Most Improved – Henry Rosindale (Mitsubishi Chemical)

Process Operations (Denver)

Academic Achievement – Drew Docherty (Triton Power)

Practical Competency – Oliver Sims (Triton Power) 

Most Improved – Melissa Clubley (Centrica)

Electrical

Academic Achievement – Zachary Ogley (Centrica)

Practical Competency – Joseph Brewitt (Tronox)

Most Improved – Evie Dickinson (Knauf) 

Mechanical

Academic Achievement – Jack Horton (Tronox)

Practical Competency – Rhys Leake (Cargill)

Most Improved – Lucas James (Spirit Energy)

Welding

Academic Achievement – Jack Warrender (EFAB)

Practical Competency – Ethan Dawson (Rainham Industrial Services)

Most Improved – Finn Hillary (Blackrow)

Pipefitting 

Academic Achievement – Oliver Wilson (PJD)

Practical Competency – Harry Watt (Phillips 66)

Most Improved – Freddie Smith (EFAB) 

Metal Fabrication

Academic Achievement – Bartosz Potrzuski (PJD)

Practical Competency – Euan Hoyle (Worley)

Most Improved – Ellis Churches (PJD)

ECITB Scholars

Academic Achievement – Kieran Poole 

Practical Competency – Matthew Watson

Most Improved – Miller Johnson

Above and Beyond Award – Zachary Craig (Lenzing)

CATCH Champion – Emily Hasthorpe (Lenzing)

Apprentice of the Year – Barney Morley (Mitsubishi Chemical)

British Steel today announced a new partnership with leading training provider CATCH as it prepares to welcome dozens of new apprentices into its business.

The UK’s only primary steelmaker is taking on its first apprentices for 3 years including 36 in engineering and technical roles in Scunthorpe.

Training for these successful candidates will be delivered by expert tutors from CATCH and follow a flexible delivery model, so the apprentices learn their trades both on-site at British Steel and at the Stallingborough-based CATCH facility.

Located in the heart of the UK’s Energy Estuary, CATCH delivers high impact services tailored to meet the evolving needs of industry, from its world-class training facilities and membership networks to its policy engagement and school outreach work.

British Steel HR Director Nick Ashton said: “CATCH has an outstanding reputation, and we’re delighted our new apprentices – our next generation of engineers and technical experts – will benefit from this exciting new partnership.

“We’ve been working closely with CATCH to ensure the best possible training experience, with a blend of technical knowledge and practical hands-on skills.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming our new apprentices who will play an important role in our drive towards sustainable steelmaking.”

British Steel’s new engineering and technical apprentices for Scunthorpe will join the business in September and, over the course of their 3-year programmes, work towards a National Apprenticeship while earning a competitive salary.

Nick said: “Many of our senior leaders joined as apprentices and our new recruits will have a superb opportunity to follow in their footsteps and build the foundations for a hugely rewarding career with British Steel.”

Paul Robinson, Director of Education and Training at CATCH, said: “British Steel has a proud legacy and the people that work there have a deep-rooted sense of belonging, these values closely align with our own at CATCH.

“We are extremely proud to be working in partnership with the team and to support the development of their future workforce. Together, we will provide a high-quality apprenticeship programme that blends technical expertise with practical, hands-on training, giving apprentices the tools they need to thrive in their new careers.

“We look forward to a long partnership and to playing a key role in British Steel’s journey as they continue to invest in place, people, skills, and their community.”

British Steel is recruiting a total of 58 apprentices this year. In addition to the 36 engineering and technical apprenticeships in Scunthorpe, 6 functional roles have been created at its headquarters, 14 positions at its operations on Teesside and Skinningrove, and 2 roles at its R&D facility in Sheffield.

CATCH was delighted to welcome Sir David Bell, Vice Chair of Skills England, and Andrew Mills, Skills England Regional Relationship Manager (North), to our Stallingborough site this week.

Hosted by CEO David Talbot, the visit included a tour of our industry-led training facilities, followed by a working lunch and roundtable discussion with representatives from across the Humber’s process, energy, and engineering sectors.

The roundtable provided a valuable opportunity for employers to share key challenges – including skills shortages, the need for greater training capacity, and clarity around funding and investment – directly with the Skills England team. Participants highlighted the importance of collaboration between training providers, colleges, and employers to address regional skills gaps and deliver a workforce ready to support major infrastructure and the clean energy mission projects.

We thank our members, partners, and stakeholders for contributing to such an impactful session and look forward to continuing our engagement with Skills England to shape a skills system that truly meets the needs of industry.

CATCH, the membership-led industrial training organisation, has commenced build on their latest expansion with Lindum Group.

The new facility, which is an extension of the CATCH head-office and conferencing building, will house a new central atrium, lecture theatre, event and breakout space including AR/VR suite and Board Room.
The Humber Freeport has provided £4M of funding towards the industry backed CATCH expansion programme, which is part of the organisation’s wider plans to scale up the number of engineering construction trades people required to build, operate and maintain the UK’s energy security infrastructure.

The expansion, supported by public and private place-based investment, will lead initiatives and projects to build academic partnerships, STEM careers & educational outreach, reskilling and upskilling delegates employed or seeking employment in the Humber industrial cluster where new jobs are being created for the clean power industries and through deployment of new technologies in hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

The ground breaking ceremony welcomed public sector investors, industry sponsors, CATCH board Members and key stakeholders from across the region. Speeches were delivered from David Talbot CEO CATCH, Simon Green, CEO Humber Freeport, Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes and Martin Vickers Conservative MP for Brigg and Immingham.

Katie Hedges, Chief Strategy Officer said, “Our new centre will play a vital role in accelerating the Humber’s transition to a low-carbon economy. By supporting our members & new investors, nurturing clean growth businesses, and strengthening our ties with local universities, this facility will not only deliver our core membership services but also create skilled jobs, support supply chain development, and inspire the next generation of industry leaders across our industrial communities”.

Simon Green, CEO of Humber Freeport, said: “Alongside driving investment through our tax sites, Humber Freeport launched with three key focuses – innovation, decarbonisation and skills.
“CATCH’s expansion, supported by significant private sector investment, will advance the region’s capabilities in all of those areas, creating a talent pool for employers to tap into and ensuring our region has the skilled people it needs to unlock growth.

“The Government has this week published its Industrial Strategy, and within it, made one thing very clear – the clean energy transition is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. As the pre-eminent energy cluster in north west Europe, the scale of opportunity we have in the Humber to drive the UK’s green industrial revolution is enormous.

“Humber Freeport is pleased to be supporting CATCH with its ambitious expansion, as we continue to work closely with the organisation and its industrial partners to understand how freeport status can act as a powerful tool to help the Humber achieve its strategic objectives.”

Cllr Phillip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said “This is great news for North East Lincolnshire. It provides great training opportunities for learners in NEL, particularly young people and preparing them for a future with well paid skilled jobs. We are very proud of the model where we work in partnership with industry to shape training programmes to meet their needs and focus on where the job growth is and we believe that, in close partnership with the Freeport and our new Mayoral Combined County Authority, this is just the start of delivering an improved skills and training offer in our region.”

CATCH is extremely proud to be sponsoring and supporting Armed Forces Cleethorpes 2025, with the design and manufacture of a sign to support the event.

Reading #AFD and standing at over 6 feet tall, the sign is an incredible collaboration. Commissioned by the Armed Forces Major Events Team as a long-standing dream, it was the incredible work of Arron Kearney (Welding and Pipefitting Team Leader), Dan Ridley (Metal Fabrication Trainer) and Alan Bunce (Welding and Fabrication Trainer) as well as some of the First Year Apprentices who were able to use their exceptional engineering skills to design, manufacture and finish the piece from scratch.

The letters are truly a sight to behold, painted in Red, Light Blue and Dark Blue, indicative of the tri-service flag. The design also pays homage to CATCH, who’s logo is featured within the design and will be located between The Remembrance Gate and the top of the Pelican Waterfall. It is a privilege are thrilled to be supporting Armed Forces Day and Armed Forces Weekend, both now and in the future.

David Talbot, CATCH Chief Executive Officer said:

“As an Armed Forces Silver Employer and having operated within the Humber Region for over 2 decades, it truly is an absolute pleasure to have been invited to support the Armed Forces Day Event in Cleethorpes. I am truly blown away by what has been created by both our trainers and apprentices, and hope that the piece has the potential to become a centre piece of the event for years to come.”

Alex Baxter, Managing Director of the Armed Forces Major Events Team, said:

“I’d like to thank CATCH for doing this for us – it’s a great way for young people to learn about Armed Forces Day and what it means to be part of the armed forces community.

“The weekend is all about thanking members of the armed forces, past, present and future, and their families for their service to the country, and we can’t wait to see lots of people take photos in front of the letters and show their support too.”

Arron Kearney, Welding and Pipefitting Hub Team Leader, said:

“The creation of the Armed Forces Day logo was full team effort from HCF Catch, from concept to design then manufacture. I have family and friends that have serve in the armed forces so the was an honour to create this for Armed Forces Day.

Due to the uniqueness of the design, it was also a great learning curve for the apprentices as they had to live problem solve how the letter would stand alone and be made secure. This can be seen by the modifications made as the letter were being built.

I hope that people enjoy the setting and take many pictures with the letter to promote Armed Forces Day.”

Dan Ridley, Metal Fabrication Trainer said:

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable project from start to finish, and allowed us to showcase our hard work, dedication and passion for the Armed Forces, who continually protect us. The letters are a dedication and honour to those who are both veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces.”

We are once again thankful to the Armed Forces Major Events Team for providing us with this opportunity, as well as to each individual that has been involved in the organisation, design, manufacture and completion of the letters:

Arron Kearney – CATCH

Dan Ridley – CATCH

Alan Bunce – CATCH

Dexter Paton – Wood

Bartosz Portruski – PJD

Kyle Standley – PJD

Ellis Churches – PJD

Elliot Hooper – OLG

Fraser Conlan – Allied Protek

Jake Hargreaves – Bilfinger

Barney Sewell – Rainham Industrial Services

Lewis Dick – Haile Engineering

Harry Jackson – Phillips 66

Archie Bennett – INEOS

Euan Hoyle – Worley

Joel Broddle – CATCH

David Talbot – CATCH

Ellie Owens – CATCH

For more information about the weekend, please visit https://www.afmet.co.uk/.

CATCH is proud to announce that it has been awarded Service Provider of the Year at the 2025 Chemical Industries Association (CIA) Awards. The award recognises CATCH’s outstanding contribution to the UK chemical industry through its innovative, industry-led skills, training, and competency programmes.

Located in the heart of the UK’s Energy Estuary, CATCH delivers high impact services tailored to meet the evolving needs of industry, from its world-class training facilities and membership networks to its policy engagement and school outreach work. CATCH was shortlisted for three awards alongside tough competition in the industry – The Sustainability Award, The Service Provider of the Year Award and the Company of the Year Award.

David Talbot, CEO of CATCH, said:
“To be recognised by the CIA as Service Provider of the Year is a proud moment for our team. This award is a testament to the power of partnership, working together with our communities, industry, government, and education to build the skills and infrastructure needed for our region and beyond. We are now triple award winning, having previously been awarded the ECITB training provider of the year, and the ATA Training Provider of the year”.

To find out more about CATCH and their services please visit www.catchuk.org

Today, CATCH has achieved the Silver employer recognition scheme award recognising their ongoing commitment to supporting the armed forces community.

Having achieved the Bronze award in 2022, the granting of the Silver Award today demonstrates the additional steps they have taken to support those who serve or have served in the armed forces, including reservists, veterans, and their families.

As a military-friendly employer, their team includes ex-forces personnel from across the Army, Navy and RAF, who bring valuable skills and experience to the organisation.

Mark Booth, Head of Skills Training Delivery at CATCH, said:

“As an employer of ex-forces personnel from all 3 services I am honoured that CATCH has been recognised with the Armed Forces Silver Award 2025. The award is a progression on the Bronze Award granted in 2022 and reaffirms our ongoing commitment to employing and supporting those with current or previous roles in the armed forces. Having previously completed 24 years service in the RAF I am honoured to work for a military-friendly employer, championing the work of the armed forces, providing a flexible and supportive working environment”.

CATCH will continue to support, advocate for, and provide opportunities for members of the armed forces community. To find out more about CATCH, visit: www.catchuk.org

CATCH hosted their Cyber Security (Operational Technologies) Network on Wednesday 11 June with over 20 delegates in person and via Teams. The focus of the session was a presentation with Elliot Gidley from Claroty on the topic of vulnerability and risk management.

By seeking to improve operational efficiency to drive profits, management boards are exposing more risk to the business through allowing greater connectivity to systems from, for example, vendors. Bad operators can then exploit these potential weakness with the aim to ransom the business to fund criminal activity.

Digitalisation is driving innovation through automation and robotics, digital twins, 5G networks and edge computing. Potential back doors are being opened up across these areas. Critical infrastructure is governed by regulations and frameworks to control and manage this risk.

Currently 69% of OT organisations typically pay ransoms ($1.1B in 2023) compared to 24% for IT environments. OT victims can present serious safety and other implications from being offline/out of production so paying the fine can be the lowest risk option.

Elliot gave an overview of a recent survey looking at OT Exposure and the Global State of CPS Security in 2025. Findings showed that 12% of researched organisations have OT assets communication with malicious domains, through eg. KEVs & insecure internet connections. Elliot highlighted how to prioritise remediation through a focus on known exploited vulnerabilities, ransomware links and insecure internet connections. The group discussed the risks exposed to sites by some vendors and how clients can work together with vendors to improve security.

Elliot demonstrated how Claroty can help manage exposure through business impact assessment. It is important to create a priority list of vulnerabilities for operational technologies to focus time and resources. Elliot took many questions and after a coffee break ran through a demonstration of the Claroty xDome dashboard and functionality.

The next meeting of the Cyber Security Network will be hosted at Tronox on Wednesday 15 October. For more information about CATCH Networks please contact katie.hedges@catchuk.org.

On Thursday 5^th June 2025, we opened our doors at our CATCH Facility and welcomed delegates for our final event of Humber Business Week, our CATCH EDIB Conference.

Chair Paul McCartan (Yara) welcomed everyone to (not so) sunny Stallingborough, welcoming faces both new and old to the conference. Paul began with an introduction to Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Belonging, as well as the CATCH EDIB Charter and the importance of EDIB in the workplace.

Paul then introduced the guest speakers for the event, Fintan Canavan and Ivaylo Arnaudov from Protiviti Global Business Consulting, who provided a fascinating insight to Generational Diversity in the Workplace and Unlocking the Productivity Potential of a Multigenerational Workforce.

Sitting down for a fireside chat, Fintan and Ivo explained how their study had been completed in conjunction with the London School of Economics, following concerns from businesses and clients about generational divide in the workplace, and a lack of research and support about what can be done to improve productivity and relationships within the workplace.

Protiviti focused their initial study on meetings. It was found that 35% of workplace meetings were considered to be unproductive, and that by including multiple generations and engagement teams from departments across the business,  a shift in culture and beliefs surrounding meetings can  allow for improved knowledge sharing and relationships to be built, bridging the gap between generations within the workplace.

Fintan and Ivo also spoke about the preliminary results from their second-year study surrounding the use of AI in the workplace, with delegates opening up the conversation about their experiences on the use of AI in the workplace. While it is often found to be a fast-growing and useful tool across industries and sectors, it was found by Protiviti that there is some concern across younger generations about future entry level jobs, however it is this generation that are the most comfortable using this technology.  Intellectual property and data security was also found to be a concern for most.

The session culminated with breakout discussions, with delegates discussing not only the topics that had been covered, but also the generational challenges that they faced within their own workforces, and how having open discussions with senior leaders could result in a positive impact across the company surrounding generational diversity.

Fintan and Ivo closed the conference by introducing their third-year study, which will launch later this year and is looking for businesses and participants to join them as they continually research generational diversity within the workforce.

The next CATCH EDIB Network will be held on Thursday 10^th July. For more information about the CATCH EDIB Network and membership, please contact lisa.buck@catchuk.org.

CATCH held their second Humber Business Week event at the Ropewalk in Barton.  An event on Circular Economy and the Environment as part of our annual Environmental Managers Network programme.  Over 40 delegates joined us online and in person and were warmly welcomed by the chair, Martin Jones, SHEQ Manager at Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery.  The event was kindly sponsored by TYR Law.

Andrew Gadd from Footprint Services set the scene with an engaging presentation on developing circular economy business models.  Using a glass jar analogy, Andrew explained how recycling was not the way out of the climate crisis.  The audience were asked to consider how do we move beyond the smash-melt-burn economy and embrace new opportunities to operate around the idea of refuse, rethink and reduce.  Andrew used a case study: baboodle – “rent everything but the baby” as an example of new ways of thinking and sharing resources.  Andrew described how all businesses can move towards being more circular through closing resource loops – using less material per product, slowing – extending product life – intensifying, enhancing the productivity of materials – closing, recovering and reusing materials, regenerating – reviving natural resources used in production processes.

Next up delegates heard about the Reverse Coal Project from Dr Amir Badiee from the University of Lincoln.  Amir first explained the background to the project, aimed at addressing sector specific climate challenges by reducing emission across energy intensive sectors such as energy production and agriculture.  One challenge being carbon dioxide released from drained/drying peatlands in the UK.  One solution developed is the reverse coal project – an idea from Lapwing Estate – to rewet peatlands and grow energy crops which can then be used as biomass with the benefit of improving biodiversity, reduce co2 release and providing new water reservoirs.

The energy crops can then be harvested and turned into Biochar which can be used further as a combustible to generate electricity, used in steel works as replacement for coal or simply buried as permanent carbon storage (if ground conditions are favourable).  Amir explained the advantages of biochar over coal with almost identical calorific values (for biochar produced at higher temperatures) and reduction in the amount of contamination, such as sulphur and nitrogen.  One challenge is the yield following pyrolysis, which is extremely low, meaning that large amounts of land would be needed.  Amir is now researching Bio-Oil as an alternative for power transmission insulation fluid used in engines and machinery.  These solutions are not about decarbonising the whole industry, but about helping to defossilise the economy.

After a break delegates enjoyed a very informative presentation from Will McDonald from Ecosystems Knowledge Network titled An Environment for Net Zero: the role of land, water & nature in net zero goals for North Lincolnshire & the Humber.  Will’s talk focused on natures ability to sequester carbon and how increases in carbon credit pricing will drive demand, against a backdrop of limited supply.  Will described the work of Northern Lincolnshire Environmental Farmers Group, to establish a carbon baseline for a collective of 30,000ha land and then looking at natural solutions for carbon offsetting and determine benefits that can then also be sold to others.

The morning event was wrapped up with a presentation from Alex Hajok, Manager of Humber Nature Partnership, who updated the group on their work streams and strategic framework.  Their aim remains to work towards favourable condition status for the estuary, member site assessment and response, developing formal communication channels and promoting best practice.  Leah Young, Conservation Officer with Humber Nature Partnership, who presented a case study on dealing with protected wild bird species on a local industrial site.

The next CATCH Environmental Managers Network will be held on Wednesday 8th October.  For more information about CATCH membership and networks please contact katie.hedges@catchuk.org