A COMPANY which aims to boost employment in the county has gained a vital partner.

Social enterprise All Together Cumbria has teamed up with Sellafield Ltd, using its services as a way of ensuring that all career opportunities are visible and accessible to all.

And it's all part of Sellafield's Social Impact programme, ensuring people across Cumbria have better access to employment opportunities.

On average, Sellafield and its supply chain recruits around 750 roles a year, and is looking to ensure 500 roles are recruited through All Together Cumbria within the next 18 months, including graduate roles and apprenticeships.

ATC was formed in 2018, with the aim of maximising current and future employment in the local community, with money made being reinvested to provide employment opportunities through improved skills development and training.

Sellafield involvement enables ATC to enhance its existing skills hub programme, as well as supporting the development of an online platform.

Sellafield Ltd chief executive officer, Paul Foster said: "Sellafield Ltd's ambition is to ensure everyone has equal and inclusive access to all career opportunities and roles within our organisation and the supply chain.

"All Together Cumbria will help us to achieve our vision by ensuring the employment opportunities Sellafield Ltd has are visible, accessible and achievable for all."

All Together Cumbria management committee chairman, Tim Corrigan, said: "We are delighted to have secured this commitment from Sellafield Ltd. It enables us to further expand and build on our vision to work in partnership with industry and the community to provide people in Cumbria with greater opportunity and access to employment.

"All Together Cumbria is committed to working closely with the local industry to understand their current and long-term recruitment needs, helping to identify skills gaps for the future and enabling targeted investment to be made to improve the lives of the local people in Cumbria."

Northern Powerhouse partnership director, Henri Murrison said: "Sellafield Ltd continues to demonstrate how the best companies across the North can help local communities to realise their ambitions. Working in partnership with companies in the supply chain and All Together Cumbria clearly improves prospects for local economic and employment growth."

Copeland Mayor, Mike Starkie said: "Partnerships such as this are the key to success. Making employment opportunities and career pathways at Sellafield Ltd and its supply chain partners more accessible to local people than ever before will help to ensure that more of the £2 billion of taxpayers' money that it spent at Sellafield every year stays in the local community. This is good for jobs, companies and the local economy."

Copeland MP, Trudy Harrison said: "Initiatives such as this will help us to grow the economy of Copeland and West Cumbria, strengthen the Northern Powerhouse and create a more prosperous and vibrant West Cumbria."