Siemens has advertised 135 vacant posts at its new facilities in Hull, the largest number of opportunities made available so far, Green Port Hull reports.
The bulk of the newly-advertised jobs are 120 roles for production operatives within the wind turbine blade factory that is now taking shape at Hull’s Alexandra Dock. There are also a range of other positions, including maintenance technicians and goods inwards surveyors.
“Our recruitment activity is really gathering pace now, as shown by the number of positions we have made available today,” Siemens’ Head of Human Resources for the Hull project, Carolyn Woolway, said:
“At the same time as making new positions available we are also working through the recruitment process for previously advertised jobs, with candidates attending assessment centres. As this is a completely new industry to the UK and the vast majority of the workforce will be new to Siemens and our culture, values and behaviours, the training requirements are substantial, but we are on target and encouraged by the quality of applications we are receiving.”
Together with partner Associated British Ports, Siemens is investing GBP 310 million to create wind turbine blade manufacturing, assembly and logistics operations at the redeveloped Hull site. In total Siemens will employ around 1,000 people at Alexandra Dock, with 800 jobs in the blade factory.
Candidates who are successful in applying for the positions advertised this time are likely to join Siemens from March 2016, ahead of the scheduled September opening date for the blade factory.
The majority of recruits will undergo training at Siemens’ sister blade factory in Aalborg, Denmark, and at Aalborg Technical College, in addition to initial training at the Hull College Group Composites Training Centre on Hull’s Preston Road estate. A converted warehouse at Alexandra Dock will also be used for part of the training.
Siemens stressed it was committed to workforce diversity and encouraged female candidates to apply for the jobs.
“Factory environments are sometimes seen as male domains, but that is certainly not the case in Siemens’ manufacturing facilities across the UK and around the world,” Woolway said.
“Our blade factory in Hull will be a state-of-the-art facility with a range of skills and disciplines appropriate to male and female members of staff. As in everywhere Siemens operates, we want the workforce in Hull to be as diverse as possible and reflect the community that we work within.”
Image: Green Port Hull