From apprenticeship to senior role at Cressall

Leicester, UK – Andrew Keith, an alumnus of Loughborough University, has been appointed as technical manager at Leicester-based Cressall Resistors, following the incumbent manager’s retirement.

The partnership between Cressall Resistors and the local institutions of higher education has led to a career progression for Keith as well as a number of other graduates in apprentice schemes.

Cressall Resistors has been collaborating with local universities for six years and during each one it has employed at least two new undergraduates who are completing placements during their degree.

Four graduates are currently working for the company who first worked there during their industrial placement years and two who are currently completing degrees in this way.

After completing a placement with Cressall, Keith went back to university for his final year, benefitting from a scholarship provided by the resistor manufacturer.

Following his graduation from Loughborough, Keith was offered a full-time position with Cressall and has remained with the company since.

During this time, he has been involved in the design and development of water cooled braking resistors and was instrumental in stringent resistor testing for a variety of customers including Alstom, ABB and Areva.

Keith, who also holds an MEng in electrical engineering, said, “Regardless of whether I had come back to Cressall after finishing my course, the experience gained during my placement year was invaluable for my personal and professional development. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to participate in such a scheme.”

Explaining the company’s programme, Peter Duncan, managing director of Cressall, said: “Our close ties with universities and a clear progression path for graduates have always been at the core of our schemes. We believe in retaining talented people by challenging them and helping them develop professionally. This is genuinely how we are finding our leaders for tomorrow.”

Cressall claims to offer the UK’s widest range of resistor technologies. Its customers include ABB, Siemens, Areva and Alsthom as well as major utilities such as Central Networks, Yorkshire Electricity, EDF and Scottish Power.