British Steel to hire more workers after government intervention

British Steel is hiring again for the first time since it was rescued by the government.

The company is looking to fill more than 180 positions as it gets ready to increase production. Having secured the necessary raw materials to maintain operations at its Scunthorpe site, British Steel plans a significant boost to its iron and steel output in the coming months.

The available roles span a wide range of skills and experience levels, from professional and skilled positions to non-skilled labour.

Opportunities are available across multiple locations, including Scunthorpe, Teesside, and Skinningrove. Departments with open positions include engineering, environmental, chemistry, cleaning, legal, labouring, safety, and stores.

Interim chief executive officer, Allan Bell, said: “With the backing of the UK Government, we are focused on cementing British Steel as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of steel.

“To help achieve this, and meet customer demand, we will be upping production across all our sites and recruiting more than 180 people to help drive us forward.

“These are exciting opportunities across our business, offering rewarding careers which will play important roles in building stronger futures for our business and the UK economy.”

Most of the new jobs are in Scunthorpe.

Interim chief commercial officer, Lisa Coulson, said: “Our employees always have been and always will be our greatest asset – they are the people who make British Steel such an incredible place to work.

“Together we have a bright future so apply now and join our team.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This is great news for workers and the wider communities in Scunthorpe, Teesside and Skinningrove.

“It shows the value of using the power of government to protect UK industry and to help it thrive.

“We now need an industrial strategy with plans to protect and create jobs in sectors like energy, vehicles, chemicals, and ceramics.”

Community union’s National Secretary for Steel, Alun Davies said: “Under the site’s previous ownership, we regularly highlighted that there was a need to recruit to keep up with workload and reduce reliance on overtime.

“This went unheeded for far too long.

“It’s good to see that the UK Government and UK management team are taking swift action to address this by recruiting new staff across the business.”

British Steel is hosting a recruitment open day on Saturday, May 17.

The new jobs announcement comes after ministers used emergency powers to take control of British Steel and continue production at the site after what was thought to be a plot to sabotage the Scunthorpe plant by its Chinese owners Jingye.

Jingye previously proposed to close Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces and put up to 2,700 jobs at risk out of a workforce of 3,500. Since the government’s intervention, British Steel has been able to secure a stable supply of raw materials to its two blast furnaces, Queen Anne and Queen Bess, as well as save jobs at risk.