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Burton Latimer’s new can factory will hold another jobs fair to attract more people to roles on offer at the 56,000m² manufacturing base for Ball Corporation (‘Ball’).

Ball will celebrate International Women Engineers Day by holding a second recruitment event – aimed at attracting a diverse and inclusive job force.

The global aluminium drinks cans manufacturer is scheduled to be operational from January, is seeking to recruit a local workforce of more than 200 and is ramping up its recruitment drive as the new plant’s construction gains momentum.

Davene Landsbury, recently recruited by Ball as a Team Leader at the new Kettering plant

Ball’s second local jobs fair is set to take place on International Women in Engineering Day, Thursday, June 23 at the Kettering Park Hotel, from 4pm to 8pm

Paulina Panus, HR manager for Ball’s new Kettering plant, said: “We have been incredibly impressed by the local enthusiasm and talent. As construction picks up pace so too does our recruitment drive and we are committed to shaping and creating a truly inclusive place of work.

“A successful business needs different views and voices to be heard, so to build something truly sustainable we all need to open the doors wider. That’s why we want to attract a diverse workforce, which includes an ambitious 50 per cent gender diversity target, and why we are holding our June Jobs Fair on International Women in Engineering Day.”

The company has invited men and women, of any background or experience to the event.

Set for completion in January 2023 the site will occupy 56,000 sq m - about the size of eight standard football pitches - with an investment of 'hundreds of millions' of pounds

CEO of the Women's Engineering Society (WES), Elizabeth Donnelly, will officially open the Ball Jobs Fair and make a keynote introduction. Also at the jobs fair will be Davene Landsbury, recently recruited by Ball as a Team Leader at the new Kettering plant.

Davene said: “When I first applied to Ball I didn’t think I would get an interview as I haven’t made cans before and this is traditionally a male dominated career. I had previously worked for 20 years as a warehouse manager in London where the workforce had been almost all male.

“Ball, though, is turning the stereotypes on their heads and is committed to employing a truly diverse workforce. You don’t need engineering or mechanical experience to be recruited. It will be hard work of course, but Ball is going to teach and train everyone.”

Burton Latimer set to be home to UK’s largest aluminium can packaging plant

When built, the Ball Corporation plant at Burton Latimer's Segro Park 'Kettering Gateway' will be producing more than one billion cans annually and employ up to 200 people.

Jason Bridger, the new Kettering plant manager, added: “Our ethos is to be as flexible as possible, which is why we will be one of the only UK plants to have three rather than two shift patterns. This means people will potentially be able to buddy-up. A working parent, for example, may want to do day shifts only and there is no reason we couldn’t make that work.

“We haven’t built our working schedules or rotas yet and are open to suggestions and discussions, so please come along and talk to us.

“We are also seeking to work with refugees. Those who speak English we will assess in the usual way, although we will also have an interpreter on hand for back-up with technical words. For those without English language skills who are a perfect fit for Ball, we will provide English lessons.”

To find out more about the roles at the new plant, visit: https://jobs.ball.com/lp/Kettering%20Landing%20Page/0541274707cd6217/?locale=en_GB&utm_campaign=Kettering-Landing.

New Burton Latimer can factory targets female engineers for roles