Sean Flatley came full circle when he joined Unilathe for the second time. He originally joined from school as an engineering apprentice in the 1990s. But after a few years, he left for a job in production engineering in Holland and then Germany.

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Eighteen months later he was back in the UK applying for jobs – and Unilathe was only too happy to re-recruit their former apprentice.

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That was in 2001 and he has stayed ever since. Sean has progressed through the ranks and is now a production supervisor, passing on his knowledge to younger colleagues and the current crop of apprentices.

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“It was great to go and work abroad – you pick up a lot and mature as a person,” he said. “But it was also great to be welcomed back to Unilathe. It was a smooth transition and returning was like putting on a pair of old slippers.

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“The apprenticeship route served me really well back then, and even though the machines and the operating processes have changed, the fundamentals of learning and engineering remain.

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“And, certainly, it’s nice for me to be in a position now working with the apprentices and passing some of that knowledge on to the younger lads.”