First local recruits start work at Bradley surface mine

Banks Mining take on five new local workers as part of the first phase of recruitment for the project

THE first new recruits who have been drawn from the communities around the new Bradley surface mine in Co. Durham have started work on site. Banks Mining have taken on five new plant operatives and a new labourer who all live close to the Bradley site as part of the first phase of recruitment for the project.

A further six colleagues who live in the area, but were previously working in specialist positions at Banks Mining’s Shotton surface mine in Northumberland have chosen to relocate to a new workplace much closer to home in the same sorts of roles.

Banks Mining made a direct appeal to those living in surrounding communities to put themselves forward for the plant and general operative roles they were offering at the Bradley site, with most of the several dozen applications subsequently received coming from people living within a few miles of the site.

A further nine jobs are expected to be filled locally in the coming weeks, with additional phases of recruitment scheduled to follow later in the summer.

Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, said: ‘We have a strong track record of employing people living in the communities around our projects wherever possible, which is part of our promise to bring direct benefits to these locations.

‘We very much focused our recruitment drive for the new Bradley jobs on local people with the skills and experience required for the available roles, and are extremely pleased to already have local people benefitting from the employment opportunities we are creating there.

‘We place a great deal of emphasis on ensuring our highly skilled employees are equipped with the skills they need to do their jobs as safely and efficiently as possible, and will be providing any training required by our new recruits to enable them to do the work required.’