Exyte Hargreaves’ HR business partner James Hoare won the award for Staff Driven Improvement Initiative of the Year, while Melissa Lee, one of many apprentices at Exyte Hargreaves, collected the trophy for Heating and Ventilation Apprentice of the Year. 

Behind the Staff Driven Improvement win is the Mental Heath Awareness programme that Exyte Hargreaves now runs. Along with a training scheme to ensure greater awareness across senior management, Exyte Hargreaves has also trained seven Mental Health First Aiders, who are available to offer initial support to all staff members.

Ms Lee is the second female apprentice fabricator welder to be employed by Exyte Hargreaves. A graduate of the Engineering Young Talent Programme (EYTP) that Exyte Hargreaves runs with several local schools and colleges, she has garnered much praise from colleagues throughout the business and was also picked to be a subject for the Citizens of Manchester promotional campaign.

Exyte Hargreaves was also Highly Commended in the Employer Training Initiative of the Year and Employer Engagement with Training Development of the Year categories.

The category winners will go forward along with other regional winners to compete at the BESA National Awards, which are being held at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London on November 21 2019.