*Armstrong Watson has welcomed 37 new graduate trainees - a record number for the accountancy, business and financial advisory firm, up from 28 in 2023.

Based at offices across the north of England and Scotland, the new students, including five based in Carlisle, will be working towards their ACA qualification to become Chartered Accountants. Three of this year’s graduate students are former trainees who have progressed from their AAT apprenticeship to go on to train as Chartered Accountants. This month they will start their three-year programme which combines study with hands on experience, support, coaching and mentoring from the business.

 

*Trainee accountant Matthew Law, 24, is embarking on a career with Saint & Co in Penrith –after an unconventional start in business.

Matthew left Ullswater Community College midway through his A Levels to work at a local building society, before moving into the motoring trade. It was only when he saw an advert for a trainee accountant that he considered a career in the industry.

“I felt like I needed to change careers but never really thought about accountancy, and I can genuinely say that it is the best decision I have ever made,” said Matthew.

“There is an assumption that people who work in accountancy need to have a university degree, but Saint & Co promotes a wide variety of routes into the profession and I couldn’t be more of an example than that.

“I didn’t go to university and I don’t even have any A Levels so I have entered the industry in an unconventional way, but the team at Saint & Co offers such a supportive and friendly working environment that I’ve really settled into accountancy and I’m already planning ahead for a long career with the company.

Saint & Co operates across 10 offices in Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway, employing 10 partners and 120 team members. In addition to having a presence in Penrith, it also has bases in Carlisle, Cockermouth, Whitehaven, Millom, Ambleside, Wigton, Annan, Dumfries and Castle Douglas.

 

*Auctioneer Joe Bowman has been named a finalist at the New Auctioneer of the Year award at the Farmers Guardian’s The Heart Awards.

Joe, 30, from Brampton Fell Farm in Cumbria, has already made a name for himself in the auctioneering world. Raised on a 500-acre mixed farm by his parents, Alan and Val, Joe has been deeply involved in farming from a young age. In August 2015 he started working as a yard drover at Harrison & Hetherington. After completing his studies at Newton Rigg College he applied to join the auctioneer training program at Harrison & Hetherington, where he excelled.

"The highlight of my career so far has been getting the opportunity to sell at the Alston Moor Gimmer sale in 2021," he said. "It’s a sale I grew up with, and my family has been selling sheep there for 80 years. It was a real ‘I’ve made it’ moment."

The Mart’s The Heart Awards, now in its ninth year, were launched by Farmers Guardian in 2015 to recognise the vital role auction marts play in the livestock industry.

 

*A team of six hospitality professionals from Cumbria are being fast

tracked on to an executive management career development pathway, thanks

to a new training initiative.

Working in partnership with Godfrey Owen Consulting, English Lakes

Hotels Resorts & Venues has launched its new two-year Leadership and Development

Programme.

The six team members have been enrolled from within the company’s

workforce. They include Sofia Spadafora, Gary Tennant, Ruby Parker and Michael

Eccles from Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, and Lynn Porter and Harry Newton

from Lancaster House Hotel’s front of house operations.

English Lakes Hotels Group Operations Director Michael Kay says:

“It’s our aspiration to recognise and support individuals within the

company who show an aptitude, desire, energy and passion for

progression.”

 

*Chef-owner Ryan Blackburn, who closed his restaurant Kysty this summer, has announced he is opening his latest venture, The Schelly.

The Schelly is next door to the chef’s flagship Michelin-starred restaurant The Old Stamp House in Ambleside. Ryan said: ‘’The Schelly is a new chapter for us. It’s designed to be an informal place where you can enjoy nibbles and small plates of food with a glass of wine while you catch up with friends or enjoy a relaxed lunch or dinner in elegant yet unstuffy surroundings.”

 

*Carl Hallows has joined as a new operations manager at Forth in Workington. He joins the senior management team at the engineering solutions firm to lead work at the Barrow fabrications facility.

He has a wealth of experience in manufacturing, renewable energy and subsea electrification, with a career spanning 30 years. In the past year the company has seen a 50 per cent increase in turnover and a 20 per cent increase in workforce. The company has also invested in new premises, opening a third site at Cleator Moor's Leconfield estate and an in-house fabrication unit in Barrow.