As part of National Apprenticeship Week 2021, an annual event that shines a light on the amazing work being done by employers and apprentices across the country, EN:Able Futures invited two apprentices to share their experiences to help inspire others who will be leaving school soon.
Bailey Stevens is an apprentice hosted by R. H Fullwood and Co Ltd, a multi-disciplinary construction and engineering contractor. Talking about his experience as a joinery apprentice he said: “What I enjoy about my apprenticeship is you get the opportunity to work with multiple people, which I find builds confidence, and you also get the chance to learn from different people, so you get to learn new skills. I also enjoy that we don’t just learn joinery, we learn skills that run alongside joinery."
Bradley Marshall is doing a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Construction and the Built Environment, studying at college one day a week and working four days a week at his host company Alan & Wood & Partners, who provide Structural and Civil Engineering services. Giving advice to those thinking about doing an apprenticeship he said: “Some of the things I do can be anything from drainage design to stopping a building blowing over from the wind. Some of the projects I’ve worked on are schools and uni's up and down the country, and I personally have designed a lot of Burger Kings, Starbucks, Costas and McDonalds.
“I definitely think I went down the right path, I love my job, there’s a new challenge every day. The only thing I can recommend is work experience. The two work experiences I did definitely shaped my life to give me the rough idea of where I wanted to go.”
To give attendees a complete view of what apprenticeships in Construction, Housing and Civil Engineering can offer, Rob Smith from Leeds College of Building, Guy Fullwood Director of R.H Fullwood & Co and Lucinda Yeadon, Community Liaison Manager at CEG also spoke alongside Bailey and Bradley.
You can watch Bradley’s talk from the webinar below.