THE next generation of engineers has been welcomed by international M&E consultancy CPW as part of its long-standing apprenticeship programme, with a total of 12 trainees joining the company ranks in this year’s intake across its 11 offices. Established more than twenty years ago, CPW’s apprenticeship programme is committed to
Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd (LMB) has appointed Christian Hatherall-Good as the company’s Training Manager. LMB currently offers both brickwork and scaffolding apprenticeships in order to bring the next generation of tradesmen into the construction industry. Christian, bringing 25 years of experience in construction and education, will be charged with developing LMB’s
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2020, Leeds College of Building has announced it is teaming up with The Guinness Partnership, managers of the new housing development opposite the College’s South Bank Campus. Construction is due to start on the new development near Leeds Docks and the Royal Armouries Museum
FIS is proud to announce that we are launching the FIS Sector Skills Pledge, designed to bring the sector together to secure future sector sustainability and address the skills shortages in key trades, we need to work together as a sector. This will ensure a steady supply of new entrants
Dulux Academy has supported National Apprenticeship Week for the third consecutive year. This year’s theme is ‘Blaze a Trail’, which aims to showcase and celebrate the passion and energy that apprentices bring. Working across its college partners, Dulux Academy has actively involved and celebrated the passion of seventy-five apprentices, taking
Plans to launch a landmark apprenticeship bursary have been announced by Kier Construction. The ‘Kick-Start’ Bursary is the first to be offered in the built environment, and will support apprentices who may benefit from additional financial support to enter or continue their journey in the workplace. New and existing apprentices across all
Amid recent news that apprenticeship figures are still falling, the UK construction firm nmcn is driving demand for apprentices nationwide. More than 10% of employees at nmcn are currently participating in an apprenticeship, a figure that is expected to rise to 12% when the company’s graduate scheme is brought into
Hull-based TLJ Security Systems’ electrical engineering apprentice, Lewis Wankiewicz, has won two awards at the Hull Training and Adult Education (HTAE) Awards 2018. The event, held at Hull’s Guildhall on 9th November, was a celebration of the achievements of apprentices, learners and businesses across the Hull and East Yorkshire region.
THE next generation of engineers has been welcomed by international M&E consultancy CPW as part of its long-standing apprenticeship programme, with a total of 12 trainees joining the company ranks in this year’s intake across its 11 offices. Established more than twenty years ago, CPW’s apprenticeship programme is committed to nurturing home-grown talent and bridging the skills gap by taking on apprentices straight out of school, college, and university. More than 15% of its workforce is currently part of the apprenticeship program, making up a total of 35 across a variety of levels in all offices, and solidifying its investment into the next generation of engineers. The London office has welcomed apprentice Joshua Yeboah, demonstrating its commitment to engaging and upskilling promising young students. Joshua will develop his skills as an engineer and gain practical experience working on world-class projects, specialising in sustainable mechanical and electrical engineering. He said: “I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in engineering as I’m driven by a desire to provide solutions and have a long-lasting impact on the built environment. After finishing sixth form, following a brief period searching for an apprenticeship, I found CPW. The firm stood out to me as a company built upon a strong work ethic but also a company who understands it has a duty to be as sustainable as possible. “CPW has a well-established apprenticeship program and it’s been great to meet other trainees in the company who are looking to progress in their engineering careers just like myself. Working in the London office I’ve seen first-hand the different methods for achieving results for our clients and everyone has a uniquely CPW way of working. Having a mentor on my team has also been great for my development so I’m really enjoying it.” CPW is an international M&E consultancy with more than 240 staff based across 11 offices – including Bristol, Derby, Huntingdon, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester, Nottingham, and Solihull as well as Poland and India. To join the CPW programme, apprentices must demonstrate a sound ability in maths and science, due to the technical nature of being an engineer, but also a passion and desire to be part of a team and develop a career. CPW is dedicated to developing young people and see it as its inherent responsibility to create professionals that will go on to shape the country’s engineering future. With a culture based on collaboration and sharing knowledge, CPW strives to not only offer an environment that nurtures growth but offer opportunity wherever possible. As such, CPW funds higher education qualifications including bachelor’s and master’s degrees to enable its staff to gain invaluable knowledge, closely supporting them throughout the process. Wayne Eustace, director at CPW, oversees the apprenticeship program. He said: “We pride ourselves at CPW on leading the way in supporting and nurturing the talent of future engineers. Through our various programmes of traineeships, apprenticeships, and vocational training, we are witnessing first-hand the positive impact we can have on young people as they start their careers while crucially bridging the skills gap within the construction sector. “In the last ten years alone, we’ve brought close to 100 new engineers into the industry through our training and development schemes and some of our directors even began as CPW trainees. This year we are proud to have our most diverse cohort yet with more women and people from minority backgrounds than ever before. It’s a part of the business we’re really proud of and we’re thrilled to welcome our 12 new recruits and help plug the industry skills gap with our homegrown talent.” CPW specialises in designing and integrating a full range of energy solutions into existing and new buildings to deliver cutting edge sustainable solutions that are not only energy efficient but financially and environmentally sustainable for clients. For further information visit www.cpwp.com or follow @CPWengineering on social media.
Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd (LMB) has appointed Christian Hatherall-Good as the company’s Training Manager. LMB currently offers both brickwork and scaffolding apprenticeships in order to bring the next generation of tradesmen into the construction industry. Christian, bringing 25 years of experience in construction and education, will be charged with developing LMB’s programme further and capitalising on the recent change in the pathway of apprenticeship funding that gives employers greater flexibility on delivering the training that they need. What sets LMB’s award winning programmes apart from others is a combination of behavioural coaching and up to the minute technical instruction. The training offered goes beyond current apprenticeship requirements with specialist modules focussing on modern methods of construction, fire safety and quality assurance. Based at their Head Office in Reading, he will be in charge of all LMB apprentices, mentoring and monitoring them throughout from the point of induction, to monitoring and delivering training, through to qualification. LMB’s brickwork apprentices spend four days on site gaining real hands on experience and one day at College while apprentice scaffolders follow a more staged block release programme. Christian is currently looking after 26 brickwork and 9 scaffold apprentices, he has students working on sites such as Oval Village Vauxhall with Berkeley Homes and Chelsea Barracks for Multiplex. Many of the company’s current apprentices are from Brooklands College where he worked for over 8 years as Head of Construction Curriculum and as a bricklaying tutor. But a key part of Christian’s role will be building relationships with other colleges and local authorities in order to identify new talent to join the LMB apprenticeship scheme. Christian, who holds a Professional Certificate in Education focused in Education from Greenwich University, will also oversee personal development and upskilling of LMB’s current operatives including identifying recent graduates of the apprenticeship programme that show managerial promise and encouraging them to take on more responsibility under the wing of an experienced site supervisor and are supported through their SSSTS and SMSTS for brickwork supervisors or their Advanced Scaffolder or CISRS Supervisor qualification for scaffolders. The next step for LMB will then be to open their own training centre that would be at the forefront of brickwork and scaffolding training in the UK. Christian is in the process of looking at funding and accreditation for this, watch this space!
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2020, Leeds College of Building has announced it is teaming up with The Guinness Partnership, managers of the new housing development opposite the College’s South Bank Campus. Construction is due to start on the new development near Leeds Docks and the Royal Armouries Museum later this year. This will be the largest development in Guinness’s 130-year history and will provide 928 homes as the basis for a dynamic community for local people and residents. Guinness is committed to working with the College to develop opportunities for students, including career talks, employability skills, site visits, work placements and apprenticeships. Two areas that the housing provider is looking to focus on are addressing the national skills shortage and diversity in the workplace – key elements of the College’s strategic objectives. This year is the 13th annual National Apprenticeship Week, coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, which is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories across the country. The College currently has 2,500 apprentices on programme, with 2,250 of these training in Leeds, and a large number of apprentices progressing from the College’s 16-18 study programme provision. Strong links with organisations that can support students with their career choices (such as Guinness) is vital. Derek Whitehead, CEO & Principal at Leeds College of Building, said: “Whilst classroom and workshop studies are essential, there is no doubt to the importance of site visits, work placements and job opportunities. Projects such as these give our students incredible insight into new developments within the industry; they benefit immensely from seeing what life is like on a live site”. Catriona Simons, Chief Executive of Guinness, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Leeds College of Building to promote high quality training through apprenticeships in the community we serve in Leeds. Apprenticeships are a key way of promoting skills development and increasing diversity across the construction and housing maintenance sectors. This partnership will enable students to gain real experience and insight into the careers available, while contributing to the delivery of affordable homes in the Leeds area.”
FIS is proud to announce that we are launching the FIS Sector Skills Pledge, designed to bring the sector together to secure future sector sustainability and address the skills shortages in key trades, we need to work together as a sector. This will ensure a steady supply of new entrants into the sector who will be trained and skilled tradespeople with the right qualifications for their trade to deliver the projects needed. Businesses can deliver lasting change by providing work experience, taking on apprentices and setting individuals up with skills and knowledge for long term careers. We want to inspire young people to choose careers in construction as a first-choice option, not the last. The FIS Sector Skills Pledge is a commitment from organisations and employers to become FIS Skills Champions and to embrace programmes that will help us as a sector to create a sustainable, competent and skilled workforce. The pledge will also highlight which businesses and employers are going the extra mile. To become FIS Sector Skills Champions, we need businesses and employers to commit and sign up to at least one of the following programmes: • FIS BuildBack – allows businesses and employers to meet their social value obligations and unearth new workers in this dedicated programme to train and bring new individuals into the sector in the drylining trade. • FIS BuildME – encourages new entrants from the college sector. It allows businesses and employers to meet their social value obligations and open their sites and offices to college learners for work experience opportunities. • Qualify your workforce – committed to training the finishes and interiors workforce to NVQ 2 (equivalent) by 2020. Enabling your workforce skills to be recognised with the right matching qualifications. • Showcase dedication to skills – commit to the 5% Club challenge, a dynamic cross sector movement of employers working to create shared prosperity across the UK by driving ‘earn and learn’ skills training opportunities. • #iBuiltThis2019 competition – designed to inspire the next generation of construction workers – promote and encourage attraction into construction through a fun competition by showcasing the projects you have built and enter the competition • Bringing you modern apprentices – without the pain! Iain McIlwee, CEO at FIS said “I firmly believe that together we are stronger and can make a lasting difference if we work together. The Sector Skills Pledge is an industry wide campaign to improve sector skills sustainability, an exciting invitation to the sector to sign-up to the pledge and work in collaboration to deliver the programmes that will help to make this sector sustainable for all. Together we can show everybody including young people what fantastic career opportunities exist within the sector and attract the 1500 new entrants needed in the finishes and interiors sector” For more information and to sign up to the FIS Sector Skills Pledge visit our website at www.thefis.org/fis- sector-skills-pledge/
Dulux Academy has supported National Apprenticeship Week for the third consecutive year. This year’s theme is ‘Blaze a Trail’, which aims to showcase and celebrate the passion and energy that apprentices bring. Working across its college partners, Dulux Academy has actively involved and celebrated the passion of seventy-five apprentices, taking its ‘Water-based Challenge’ on the road. The challenge aims to educate and inform apprentices about the benefits of using water-based products and demonstrate the practical application tips and techniques which are required to create a fantastic finish. Following a theory session, apprentices received their own application accessories pack and took on a panelled door challenge using the Dulux Colour of the Year 2019, Spiced Honey, competing to be recognised as the individual winner of an exclusive National Apprenticeship Week Golden Paintbrush Award. “National Apprenticeship Week is an important date in our annual events calendar. The partnership between industry and education provides an opportunity to inspire apprentices, their employers, college tutors and the painting and decorating industry as a whole,” said Vickie Mather from Dulux Academy. “We’ve outlined our commitments to the future of the decorating profession in our ‘Joint Minds Charter’ that our college partnerships have signed up to. This charter confirms the direct student benefits involved in partnering with Dulux Academy. To date we have delivered over 1,000 hours of supported learning to college students and apprentices demonstrating the joint commitment to upskilling the next generation of trade professionals,” added Vickie. National Apprenticeship Week aims to shine a spotlight on apprenticeships as a great path for people at any stage of their career; from those starting out, to those wanting to reskill or change careers. It comes at a time when the need for trade apprentices has never been greater, with a 34 per cent decline in painting and decorating qualifications being achieved through colleges. So it’s fitting that Dulux Academy has also recruited a new painting and decorating apprentice, Laura Ashby. Laura is a career changer with a passion for interiors and decorating, she joins the team to gain practical experience alongside completing her formal qualification. “As a mature student, returning to college would be a big financial commitment so the opportunity to learn on the job from industry leaders was very appealing. The Dulux Academy Painting and Decorating apprenticeship will provide me with the chance to make the move into an industry I’ve always aspired to work in. I’m looking forward to learning as much as possible about something I have a real passion for from experts in the field,” Laura said.
Plans to launch a landmark apprenticeship bursary have been announced by Kier Construction. The ‘Kick-Start’ Bursary is the first to be offered in the built environment, and will support apprentices who may benefit from additional financial support to enter or continue their journey in the workplace. New and existing apprentices across all of Kier’s business will be able to benefit from this opportunity, as long as they meet the key criteria of a household income of below £17,000. For those that get accepted, the bursary will provide support of £1,000 per year for each apprentice for the duration of their apprenticeship. The announcement comes during National Apprenticeship Week, 04-08 March, which celebrates apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. “We’re excited to be the first company in the built environment to launch an apprenticeship bursary. Starting your career and embarking on an apprenticeship should be an exciting time but, our experience has shown us that, for some people, the costs of entering the workplace itself can become a barrier. We wanted to take action that would have a direct benefit at an individual level, hopefully with this bursary we can open up access to our apprenticeships even further,” commented Jan Atkinson, talent and organisational development director at Kier.
Amid recent news that apprenticeship figures are still falling, the UK construction firm nmcn is driving demand for apprentices nationwide. More than 10% of employees at nmcn are currently participating in an apprenticeship, a figure that is expected to rise to 12% when the company’s graduate scheme is brought into the apprenticeship levy. “We’re training tomorrow’s talent to be our future. Apprenticeships aren’t a tick box exercise, we truly believe they are creating a legacy for the business. Over the last five years more than 270 of our people have been enrolled in an apprenticeship scheme and in that time we have seen a noticeable shift in the attitudes towards apprentices within the business. There’s been a pull to push shift, previously, managers needed to be persuaded to take on apprentices, now those managers are driving the demand. They see the value and momentum that apprentices can bring,” commented Karen Morris, nmcn’s group HR director. The latest statistics from the government show apprenticeships falling 15% behind pre-levy figures. “The apprenticeship levy has enabled us to open up training opportunities across the business in areas that can directly impact on our business growth right now. So while we’re developing the talent of the future we’re also investing in the business today,” added Karen.
Hull-based TLJ Security Systems’ electrical engineering apprentice, Lewis Wankiewicz, has won two awards at the Hull Training and Adult Education (HTAE) Awards 2018. The event, held at Hull’s Guildhall on 9th November, was a celebration of the achievements of apprentices, learners and businesses across the Hull and East Yorkshire region. Born out of the successful partnership HTAE has with local employers and partners each winner had an inspiring story to tell, making them true ambassadors in their field. The awards themselves were sponsored by local companies who are all passionate about providing apprenticeship and work placements to local people. TLJ are delighted to announce that Lewis, 19, won two headline awards at the event: The Engineering Centre Apprentice of the Year and the HTAE Learner of the Year prize. A distinguished panel of judges, including local employers, past apprenticeship award winners and partners chose Lewis for his dedication and commitment to the business, as well as his exceptional professional, technical and personal development. Claire Martin, TLJ’s Head of Human Resources, said: “We are so proud of Lewis! He has visibly grown in confidence and stature during the time of his apprenticeship with us but was, frankly, a little overwhelmed by his double win. But it was fully deserved: despite being a naturally shy person, Lewis has grown into a strong team player and demonstrates an active focus on site safety. He has not only become technically skilled within the area of access control but also developed the ‘soft’ skills required when dealing with customers. Lewis’ success confirms our belief that even smaller companies can benefit from employing apprentices.” Sharon Gamble, Assistant City Manager with Hull City Council, said: “We truly believe that good education and work-based training plays a crucial role in building a bright future for our learners. It’s great that, through the HTAE awards scheme, we get the chance to celebrate the achievements of our apprentices, employers, trainers and partners. It’s great for the commercial future of our city, and the wider economy of the country.” TLJ were also category sponsors for The Engineering Centre Mike Brown Award for Outstanding Achievement. For more information contact Sean Wilson, TLJ Marketing Manager, 01482 830334, s.wilson@tljlimited.com
