Future skills in action: Tees Components' skills strategy

The world of engineering and manufacturing is evolving rapidly, with new technologies, changing workforce needs and shifting skills requirements shaping the future of the sector. Enginuity's Future Skills Hub brings together practical, accessible resources to help individuals, employers and educators understand these changes and prepare for what's next.

As part of our Future Skills Hub series, we're showcasing organisations that are taking proactive steps to develop the skills their businesses and communities will need in the years ahead. In this case study, our Sector Engagement Lead, Owen McAteer, spoke with Sharon Lane, Managing Director of Tees Components, about why investing in young people, building strong education partnerships and taking a long-term approach to skills development are helping to secure the future of both her business and the wider engineering sector.

The Managing Director of an award-winning engineering SME believes that outreach work with young people is key to enabling companies in the sector to thrive. 

Sharon Lane of Tees Components sees the investments in time and resources over a 20 year period with children at both primary and secondary school, as well as college students, has provided the company with a strong foundation for the future. 

The company, which employs 55 people at its site in North Skelton, near Redcar, has also made a significant investment in an on-site training facility and a dedicated staff member to run it. 

Sharon, who started her own career as a Machining and Technical Drawing Apprentice before becoming General Manager of the family firm in 2005, was recognised earlier this year with the 2026 Tees Business Awards Lifetime Achievement prize. 

She said: “We have played the long game. I have been doing this for 20 years, firstly as General Manager and since 2018 as Managing Director. We firstly targeted local secondary schools, where we would go in to talk to them about apprenticeship opportunities. For as long as I can remember here, we have people in the business whose first contact was at 14, when they were at that school 20 years ago. 

“15 years ago, we started offering a week’s placement to every secondary school and Further Education College in the area. We built that and got a steady stream of people. From February to June, we had someone in every week. 

“We had to get set up with the risk assessments and documentation, but once we got past all that, it was there and we use the same documents now. 

“A lot of work experience students would then apply for positions, and we have those people here now. We have kept that up and have been able to do more since 2023 when we opened the extension. Then we have expanded it into different parts of the business, and we have people interested in computer science and business administration. Engineering is the core part of our business, but we do have all the separate functions here as well.” 

Research has shown that young people start to form ideas about the kinds of careers they could have from around the age of 6 and Sharon’s initiatives have been extended into local primary schools. 

She said: “About 6 years ago, I started doing school talks under the heading 'I (heart symbol) metals' to years 5 and 6, talking about my career aimed at changing perceptions of engineering. Then I have a box of metal components which we discuss with the pupils.” 

Engaging young people is particularly important in areas of the North East, as it has the country’s highest levels of youth unemployment. 

Sharon, who is also a Board Member at Middlesbrough College, said: “I don’t know the overall impact we are having with our outreach, but I think we have to have the discussion, because it is bigger than Tees Components. It is kids seeing others that are working, seeing that I am employing people and them knowing that there is a career out there. As long as they take something away from our engagement then it is positive. I feel we have a duty to do this and if we all do this, we can create a cohort of young people who are confident they can do this.” 

The investment the company makes in young people goes beyond school outreach and offering T Level placements to college students. 

Sharon said: “We have someone employed full-time looking after the apprentices. We have 55 employees so to have someone doing that is a big commitment for us and a significant investment, but it has to be done. 

“It was about recognising we didn’t have all the technical training resources we wanted to have. The colleges can only do what they are funded to do, and we have some niche products requiring specific technical skills, so we developed the onsite training facility here, and that has worked really well for us.” 

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