This week is National Apprenticeship Week, a celebration that brings together businesses and apprentices across the country to shine a light on the the positive impact that apprenticeships make them and the wider economy. We met two on a building site at Barratt Homes Bristol 

Two years ago, Alex Biruls was selling cars. He’d left school not really knowing what he wanted for his future and spent the next three years taking roles in a supermarket and then the motor trade. But, while he was at it, he discovered and developed skills and confidence that shaped a desire to ‘go back to school and learn more’, an interest in surveying and a pathway into the construction industry, in his case with Barratt Homes in Bristol.  Today, at just 26, he’s picked up a Level 4 HNC and is studying (part time) for a degree at Sheffield University to become a Quantity Surveyor. Both courses are fully funded.

Ambassadors of apprenticeships have long fought to see them on an equal footing with other qualifications and recognised as a prestigious option that meets the skills needs of employers across the country.  Crucially, they’ve advocated the pathway for students who don’t want or aren’t suited to full time academic study so they can enjoy an alternative route into their chosen career. This week – National Apprenticeship Week [ed note hyperlink if required at https://naw.appawards.co.uk/] – is celebrating and showcasing their success in doing that, with stories across the sectors – from accounting to agriculture, the creative industries to construction – looking at how the schemes deliver skills for life. 

“We’ve seen and celebrated so many of our team training and taking on key roles in Barratt thanks to apprenticeship training,” says Andrea Pilgrim, sales director at Barratt Homes Bristol. “At the moment we have both Construction Graduate Apprentices (a five year programme) and Trade Apprentices (in areas like Bricklaying and Carpentry) and we know, like the organisers of this awareness week, that the opportunity to learn while you earn, to combine study with skills training on the job among a team of trained professionals,  is absolutely the best route for some people and never a ‘second best’ option. It brings so many benefits, not least allowing people to learn while they earn with colleagues established in the industry.”

 “I think I was lucky,” says Alex Biruls today. “My parents were ambitious for me but there was no pressure – they wanted me to find something that was right for my future. But nothing was wasted during those early exploratory jobs – they showed me what I was good at (skills like negotiation, customer service) and gave me chance to explore careers and find one that was right for me. 

“Now it all seems like a no brainer,” adds Alex. “The surveyors I work with are fantastic, and this role allows me to be part of a bigger team building something special for communities. Learning while doing a job makes me more enthusiastic about my study, and the study is absolutely relevant to my day-to-day work.” 

Alex’s degree course is delivered in residential blocks up in Sheffield.  “So I can be in a technical lecture one week learning about, say, timber frame construction and the materials involved, and then I am back on site the next with a real understanding of what I am seeing and the methods we’re using,” he says. “And I have a mentor to monitor and support me all the way. I was a chatterbox at school, but now I am a bit of a bookworm. I am really invested in this role and know what the outcome and future might look like. And, while I study, I am part of a team building these new, more efficient than ever houses and communities and I find it really fascinating. Even developing the playgrounds on the developments is special. The attention to detail – the landscaping, flooring and more – to deliver a positive experience for families is really exciting to see and be a part of.”

Finn Tucker, 16, will be one of the apprentices working on those timber framed houses Alex describes. Growing up in a household with a dad who is a self-employed plumber and a brother who is a bricklayer, he knew he wanted a physical, hands on, out-in-the-fresh-air practical job and says learning while he earns is brilliant. 

“It was the practical stuff I’d loved at school – design, technology, sports – and because I was doing okay there was some pressure to go onto A Levels and there were several options presented to me, like mechanics or sport. But I really wanted to be a carpenter, was focused on and loved woodwork,  and I am so glad I made this choice. 

“The role I am in and the course I am taking feels so different from learning in a classroom or even doing practical projects in a college workshop. Carpentry here covers everything you can imagine – the doors, the floors, the roof – and I am part of a team who are teaching me every day while I work with them.  It’s hard work, but none of it – the work or the study (via two-week college placements) ever feels like a chore. I have a mentor based at the college who visits me on site.  And, crucially, I am learning fast that when you enjoy something you feel like you can achieve anything. It makes you hungry to learn more.”

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