Our Vision

At WEC Group, we believe that providing World Class Apprenticeships is essential to growth and development of our business, as well as contributing to the sustainability of the wider community. Our apprenticeship programme is designed to bridge the skills gap facing the engineering industry, safeguarding the future of the skills within our sector by developing the next generation of welders and engineers.

We are committed to ensuring the very best in learning and development for our apprentices, providing the highest standard of training within our very own state-of-the-art Engineering Academy. Our pledge as an employer is to continue to recognise local talent and inspire our apprentices to become the very best that they can be, in order to build a successful future for themselves and our business.

Our Values

• INTEGRITY - We will operate ethically, reliably and honestly.
• EXCELLENCE - We will exceed expectations and strive to be the best we can.
• POSITIVITY - We will bring energy and enthusiasm to both our work and learning whilst being supportive of others, our processes, our customers and our Company.
• TEAMWORK - We will work together to be more efficient and productive, resulting in increased innovation, higher morale and improved retention.
• SAFETY - We will promote a safety culture within the workplace which is fundamental to our operational excellence.

The new WEC Engineering Academy was created with a clear vision, that WEC Group could nuture and develop the skills of local individuals, who would then go on to have long and successful careers within the company. Since opening, the academy has welcomed over 200 apprentices in advanced disciplines including welding and fabrication, mechanical engineering and CNC Machining.

Additional apprenticeship programmes have become available at WEC Group, including business administration and project engineering within various divisions of the Group including Marketing, IT and Finance to name but a few.

Where it all began

WEC Group Ltd has grown to be one of the largest Engineering companies in the UK over the past 42 years. The Welding Engineering Company was founded in 1979 by former apprentice, Steve Hartley and Ross Place, having both fallen victim to ‘the three day week’. Following redundancy, Steve and Ross, both time-served tradesmen and in their early twenties, set out to provide a welding and fabrication service from a 1,000 square foot make-shift shed in Taylor Street, Darwen.

WEC Group's in-house Training Academy was founded in 2006 by Mr Hartley, to help reduce the engineering skill shortage within the local area and provide individuals with a path to a successful career. We believe that our award winning apprenticeship programme is leading the way to bridge the gap between education and the actual needs of engineering employers locally.