‘Attraction and retention’ the goal for Wrightbus’ new HR director

“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” – James Hamill

Wrightbus has appointed a new director of human resources as its workforce continues to expand.

James Hamill has joined the Northern Ireland-based firm from global manufacturing firm Linamar, where he headed up HR for the European region which has 19 different production facilities.

The appointment is a return to his roots for James, who was born and raised a stone’s throw from the Wrightbus headquarters in Ballymena. His wife is also from the town and his parents live about a mile away from his own home.

“The big draw in joining Wrightbus was the opportunity of doing something in my hometown,” said James, who also spent 15 years at Michelin. “It’s 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.”

Since being bought out of administration by Jo Bamford in 2019, Wrightbus has gone from 56 people on the books to an expected 2,000 by the end of the year.

James said: “My role is about attraction and retention. 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.

“We have 62 apprentices at the moment with the plan to take that up to 100 in the near future.

“Skills shortage is still an issue, especially when you’re at the cutting edge like Wrightbus is. So if you don’t have the skills or they are difficult to get, you train them yourself, which itself promotes retention.”

Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Wrightbus, said: “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.”