Employer of the Year Award
(1-9 employees)

DG Shuttleworth is a Lancashire-based plumbing and heating company employing 3 full-time members of staff.

Managing Director, David Graham Shuttleworth, has over 30 years experience in the plumbing and heating sector and is a fully qualified CORGI-registered engineer. In 1997, David came to the decision that he wanted to give something back to the industry that he loves and so took on his first apprentice.
 
David has instilled a company ethos of continual professional development, training his staff to exceptionally high standards. David explains: “I want to give the benefits of my skills and experience to a young person and fully train them in the ways that I want my business to operate, ensuring that anyone working for me will work to my high standards and levels of customer satisfaction.”

In 2004, David decided that he would build on the success of his first apprentice and hire another. By continually keeping abreast of industry issues and training opportunities, and fully participating in his apprentices’ progress reviews and on-site assessments, they have excelled in the workplace, winning the Centre of Excellence achievement award and even meeting the Queen!
 
David’s dedication doesn’t stop there: “I have always paid a full wage to my apprentices even when training is taking place and I always pay full costs of the training with no expense to the apprentice.”

As David relies on word of mouth and repeat custom for his trade, he knows that professionalism, high quality workmanship and good customer services are essential to retaining clients in an extremely competitive sector. In taking on two apprentices, David has managed to instil in them excellent work ethics, enabling them to produce end products that the customer wants to use again and again.