Manufacturing Today Issue - 227 August 2024 | Page 64

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skilled workers across all departments , we consider ourselves very fortunate to have a highly qualified talent base . I believe that we excel at retaining our staff , as a significant portion of our people have been working at Makefast for a long time . In fact , some have been with us since our move to mid-Wales in 1989 , which was accomplished with the assistance of the Welsh Development Board .
Family focus
“ It is important to note that we remain a family business , as Makefast was founded by my parents , who are still involved and still just as passionate . My brother , a strong engineer , has great knowledge on the technical side , while I am much more qualified on the administrative side . This makes for a good partnership , since we complement each other . Additionally , my nephew works here , as does another nephew ’ s girlfriend . There also are many other families involved in the company , besides my own . For instance , there are sons and daughters working here , as well as husband and wives and brothers and sisters , which creates a nice , family-like environment .”
This close-knit culture is also attractive to young people looking to enter the manufacturing industry , as Chris points out : “ We strive to make Makefast a pleasant place to work to attract local talent . As part of our efforts to promote engineering as a profession , we are encouraging apprenticeships . Currently , we have five students on work experience . These brilliant young people are eager to learn engineering , and I am hopeful that they are going to join us as apprentices at the end of this year . Moreover , we are promoting ourselves locally to parents , so that they can realize that Makefast is a great place for their sons and daughters to work . I place the emphasis on daughters here because we strive to encourage women to pursue engineering . One of the girls who came for work experience with us is very passionate
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