Business

Osbit, With Its Build Site at Port of Blyth, Wins National Future of Work Award

Offshore wind engineers Osbit, which runs a build and test facility at the Port of Blyth, has won the Future of Work Award at the British Chambers of Commerce Chamber Business Awards 2026.

Blyth.live·1 November 2026

One of the engineering firms behind Blyth's growing offshore wind cluster has picked up a national award for the way it develops its people. Osbit, which builds and tests offshore equipment at the Port of Blyth, has won the Future of Work Award at the British Chambers of Commerce Chamber Business Awards 2026, announced in mid-October.

The national win follows Osbit's success at the regional stage, where it took the equivalent award from the North East Chamber of Commerce.

The Blyth connection

Osbit is headquartered in Riding Mill, but much of its hands-on engineering now happens on the Blyth waterfront. In 2025 the company opened a 3,350 square metre build and test facility in a converted port warehouse at Wimbourne Quay, part of the Port of Blyth's Bates Clean Energy Terminal. According to Invest North East England, the move created 33 skilled jobs, and the site has produced wind farm installation tools, a floating offshore wind cable test rig and offshore access gangways. Osbit is part of the Venterra Group.

Why it won

The judges recognised what the British Chambers of Commerce describes as a "people-first" culture aimed at attracting, training and keeping skilled staff for the offshore wind sector. Since launching its apprenticeship programme, Osbit has taken on 11 apprentices, all of whom have moved into permanent roles, and it hosts between 10 and 20 university placement students every year.

The company also puts time into inspiring the next generation: over the past year its 75 STEM ambassadors gave 458 hours, attended 64 events and reached more than 5,800 young people.

Best for:

All 11 apprentices taken on through Osbit's programme so far have moved into permanent jobs.

Managing director Nigel Ward said the award "belongs to our whole team".

Part of a bigger picture

The award adds to a run of clean energy news around the port, including the planned Battleship Wharf expansion and the Energy Central Institute skills centre. For anyone in Blyth thinking about an engineering apprenticeship, it is a reminder that some of those opportunities are on the doorstep.

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