Wrightbus has appointed Ballymena native James Hamill as Director of Human Resources. He joins as the manufacturer continues to expand and arrives from manufacturing firm Linamar, where he led HR for the European region.
Mr Hamill was born and raised close to the Wrightbus headquarters. His wife is also from Ballymena and his parents live around a mile away. The business is on course to have 2,000 employees on its books by the end of 2024, having had just 56 when it was rescued by Jo Bamford in late 2019.
“The big draw in joining Wrightbus was the opportunity to do something in my hometown,” says Mr Hamill. “It is about bringing the pride of manufacturing back to Ballymena. The town has a proud manufacturing history, but it has been scarred by closures in the past.”
Key to Mr Hamill’s responsibilities will be attraction and retention of staff. “We have grown rapidly in a very short space of time, and now we need to make sure we have the right people for the right jobs,” he continues. “We have 62 apprentices at the moment with a plan to take that to 100 in the near future.”
Apprenticeships assist retention, he adds. “Skills shortage is still an issue, especially when you are at the cutting edge like Wrightbus. So if you don’t have the skills, or they are difficult to get, you train [staff] yourself, which itself promotes retention.”
Speaking about the arrival of Mr Hamill, CEO Jean-Marc Gales says: “We are delighted to welcome James to the Wrightbus team. His experience in large manufacturing is exactly what we need as we continue to expand our workforce and our business as a whole.”
