A multi award-winning spring water and soft drinks company based in Mid Wales is seeking to fill 20 job vacancies, including apprenticeships, within the fast growing business.
Radnor Hills Water Company, which is headquartered at Heartsease, near Knighton, currently employs 230 staff and is looking to recruit forklift drivers, production workers and maintenance engineers.
The company has an excellent record of training and developing its staff through apprenticeships, most of which are delivered by Cambrian Training, an award-winning, pan-Wales learning provider based in Welshpool.
In the past four years, more than 90 staff have completed apprenticeships including Food Industry Skills Level 3, Food Manufacturing Excellence Level 4 and Management Levels 4 and 5. The Apprenticeship Programme in Wales is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund.
A further 25 members of staff are expected to begin apprenticeships with the Cambrian Training Company at Radnor Hills this year. There will also be two engineering apprentices recruited and trained by Hereford and Ludlow College.
Radnor Hills produces soft drinks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with many employees working 12 hour shifts with four days on and four days off. This working pattern allows the employees six months a year off before even booking a holiday and reduces the number of days travelling to and from work, cutting weekly fuel bills by at least 20%.
The company, which has an annual turnover of £50 million, is making a major investment in a new glass bottling line and continues to invest in its state-of-the-art site which produces in the region of eight million bottles of soft drinks a week.
Radnor Hills is the only company in Europe that produces soft drinks in glass, TETRA Pak, PET and can formats from the same site.
The company’s general manager, Dave Pope says the creation of the new jobs is part of the company’s continued expansion.
“With expected growth in all areas of the business, staff training on our highly automated lines is crucial and we will continue to work closely with Cambrian Training to achieve our targets,” he said.
“The company is committed to providing jobs for local people in the Knighton area. We invest in their future by giving them qualifications for the food and drink sector that support their development and help our business to grow.
“We recruit our workforce from a 30-mile radius, but most of our employees live within 10-miles of our site. We like to give them opportunities to grow with the company by developing their skills through apprenticeships which play an important role in staff retention.
“We have developed an excellent relationship with Chris Jones at the Cambrian Training Company who was one of the first people I met when I joined Radnor Hills five years ago. Training, developing and retaining our staff are absolutely key to our future business plans.”
Chris Jones, head of Cambrian Training Company’s food and drink business unit, said: “Radnor Hills is a great employer, providing real opportunities for employees to progress within the business and they are paid well.
“The majority of the higher management team has progressed through the company which is renowned for growing its own staff supported by apprenticeships.”
