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Silverlake Recycling motivate Motor Vehicle learners with careers talk

Eastleigh College are pleased to have welcomed visitors from Silverlake Automotive Recycling in Southampton, who provided an informative presentation to Motor Vehicle learners, discussing potential industry career pathways as well as the wider environmental impact of its work.

The importance of automotive recycling and its awareness is becoming increasingly evident as the UK strives to meet net zero targets. Silverlake is a family-run automotive recycling business with a 75-year heritage and recycles over 95% of all end of life vehicles (ELVs) at its Authorised Treatment Facility in Shedfield. The company complies with environment agency standards and is audited annually. As a supplier of recycled green car parts to the public and trade, Silverlake is certified to the UK standard for green parts as awarded by the Vehicle Recyclers Association (VRA) meaning that all parts are fully traceable, quality graded and warranty assured, offering peace of mind. Green parts are not only good for the environment, but also offer motorists a safe and cost effective way of keeping their vehicles on the road.

A class of Motor Vehicle learners were in attendance for the presentation alongside six learners from our Kickstart programme. The visit proved a success, with multiple learners expressing their interest in joining the organisation and Silverlake later confirming that further work experience positions had been filled following the visit.

Thomas Harvey, Organisation Development Manager at Silverlake, said: “Eastleigh College is one of our long-standing collaborators and we have sourced multiple staff members from the College in the past, a number of whom have progressed within the organisation and now see a long-term future at Silverlake, which is fantastic. Automotive recycling is a very rewarding line of work, knowing the positive impact your efforts have each day, so it’s great to see this level of engagement from the next generation.”

Julie O’Carroll, Head of Motor Vehicle Study at Eastleigh College, said: “We are grateful to Silverlake for their time in coming into the College for this enlightening talk, following a productive evening at our recent Careers Event. It’s valuable for us all to learn more about this important sector of the industry and we hope to organise similar events in the near future.”

Automotive recycling allows for the successful reuse and reconditioning of car parts, helping to curb the demand for finite resources on the planet. There are approximately 1,500 ATFs (Authorised Treatment Facilities) in the UK, all of whom are registered and established in disposing of vehicles in an environmentally responsible way.

To learn more about Silverlake Automotive Recycling, please click here.

For any further information, please contact the College at BeBetter@eastleigh.ac.uk.