Family, impact, legacy and community mean a lot to Caroline Platt, 2nd generation Managing Director at Platts Agriculture. Last year, the company celebrated 50 years and, astonishingly, counts employees who have been with the business from the beginning.
“We have lots of families within our family business” says Caroline, “when we’re recruiting, we really promote the structure of the families that work with us because, while we’re a family business, Platts is about much more than the Platts family – it’s about every family that shares our values.”
The values that Caroline instils at the heart of the business are reflected in the makeup of Platt’s workforce – 83% of which are recruited within a 15 mile radius of Platts’ facilities. This year, the company signed the Armed Forces Covenant which commits to treating those who served in the forces with respect. “We find that people who have served share the same sense of belonging, mission and purpose. There are real synergies” says Caroline.
Caroline is passionate about engaging the younger generation with work too through programmes that engage with local schools and groups like The Scouts, providing experiences that young people might not otherwise get. This year Platts worked with The Scouts to do Banksman training – teaching people how to safely direct the movement of large commercial vehicles.
“It’s all about creating positive change” says Caroline. “Giving young people, experiences they may never have considered as a career. We have to support them – they are the future success of all our businesses.”
Caroline’s commitment to community and values are reflected in the huge volume of work she does outside the business too, engaging people with Platts and addressing structural challenges that are preventing businesses and young people maximising opportunities.
Caroline supports the charity We Mind The Gap, which helps young people who have lost their way to find employment by providing work placements. And, as Chair of the Wrexham Leadership Alliance, Caroline has worked on developing a skills academy that aims to fill the gaps in training that are typically missed by schools and colleges.
Her work with the Wrexham Leadership Alliance is also taking on the Welsh Government. “Wrexham industrial estate is the second largest in Europe” say Caroline “not many people know that. But public transport is dire. We can help fill a gap with skills training, but young people also need to be able to get to work.”
But the work does not stop there. The energy infrastructure to connect areas around Wrexham to the national grid, like Wrexham Industrial Estate, will not exist until 2035. “We need to build the connections that support businesses to grow and support the local economy. If the Government doesn’t address this and the public transport and the skills shortage, businesses won’t invest in our area and leave. It’s all about looking after the community.”
On a personal level, Caroline also takes on extreme challenges to raise money for charity. Having trekked across the arctic and a desert in Jordan, Caroline is planning to ride a motorbike from Dubai to Muscat raising money to fund one student on the Mind The Gap programme. “When you push yourself it really helps to strengthen your resolve and build resilience,” says Caroline “but, more importantly it helps me feel a real sense of purpose and be able to give something back.”