EN:Able Futures supports apprentices on their career journeys at GRK Civils

EN:Able Futures have worked in partnership with host GRK Civils since 2017, employing many groundworker and civil engineering apprentices for them.

Mick Keebles, Contract Manager at GRK Civils, said: “We had no formal apprenticeship programme before we started working with EN:Able Futures, and after 7 years I’d say that they are a key part of our workforce development strategy. We tell our prospective clients that we work with EN:Able Futures and actively use apprentices within the business, it’s a big positive for us.”

Recently two of those apprentices have changed apprenticeships, either through moving up a level or onto a different standard.

Kian Craig from Barnsley, has completed his Level 4 Site Engineering apprenticeship and has progressed onto a Level 6 Site Management degree apprenticeship, studying at Sheffield Hallam University.

He said: “With an apprenticeship you are going to college, but you are actually working full time, so you are learning on the job and when you finish college you already have a few years’ worth of experience head start.

“Doing an apprenticeship has given me lots of skills, but it’s also given me confidence in the job I do. I’m doing my level 6 degree apprenticeship now and I hope to do my masters after that.

I would recommend apprenticeships very highly; I think it’s the best way to learn a job and I think it’s the future of the industry really.”

Another apprentice, Joel Wild, started out doing a groundworker apprenticeship at GRK Civils and after completing that decided he wanted to move into the engineering side of the business. So, with the blessing of his managers and the support of EN:Able Futures apprenticeship managers, Joel has now started his new Civil Engineering Technician apprenticeship, which he is studying for at Leeds College of Building.

Mick Keebles, Contract Manager at GRK Civils, said:  “One of our groundworkers was looking for a job for his son, Joel, so I introduced him to Hannah at EN:Able Futures and she brought him on board as an apprentice groundworker. Years later he asked about becoming an engineering apprentice and again Hannah facilitated everything to make that happen for him.

“For me, the real value of working with EN:Able Futures is that they do all the leg work involved with finding, hiring and managing our apprentices. We work on sites at lots of different locations throughout the year, and EN:Able Futures will always make sure apprentices are able to start as soon as possible on those different sites, finding them suitable courses and organising the logistics for the apprentice to access them.

“I’ve got an apprentice who’s working in Huddersfield at the moment, but we couldn’t get a course there, so another apprenticeship manager, Tracy , has arranged for him to attend a course in Sheffield instead, and she has sorted out all of his train travel. I consider EN:Able Futures to be a key part of the team.”