Elstow family business, T & L Engineering, specialise in reconditioning vintage and classic engines including motorcycles. They have worked on an extensive range of engines over the years, from a 1898 Panard to a 1930 V-12 Rolls Royce, building up a very loyal customer base.

After decades of keeping the business in the family, Barry Talbot, Director and owner, realised that he needed to recruit new staff to ensure the business could move forward. Barry was often working up to 100 hours a week and many of his staff were coming up to retirement. "My father still comes in every day and he’s 84!” said Barry. “It got to the point where all my staff were from an older generation and I realised that I needed to bring in some new blood for the future of the business.”

Barry got in touch with Bedford College and spoke to them about his staffing situation. “The College were great.” Barry said, “They understood that we’re a small company and that we don’t have a Health & Safety department or a HR team - in fact I have to do everything!” The College advertised the vacancy on their website and then short listed eight suitable CVs. Barry then chose four candidates to interview and was delighted that his first choice on paper, Simon Boreham, was also successful at interview.

Barry added: “For a business like mine, attitude is very important and Simon is a hard worker with a keen interest in vintage cars. He’s also willing to learn our specific way of doing things and, (because this is the first engineering job Simon’s had), he hasn’t picked up any bad habits, which is great from my point of view!”