March 2016
Apprentices l-r Lee Kirkham, Kyle Hendrie, Andrew Patmore ( Site Manager ) Sam Gallagher and James Farrell.
Four local apprentices are building bright new careers thanks to Story Homes, which has partnered with Calico’s Constructing the Future programme.
Constructing the Future is a partnership with CITB and provides apprenticeships for young people who are interested in a career in construction.
The key benefit of the shared apprenticeship scheme is that it keeps apprentices working locally, whilst giving an opportunity to work with a range of different contractors.
Bricklayers Lee Kirkham, 19, and Kyle Hendrie, 18, both from the Blackpool area, have been placed with Story Homes for the last eight months. Through the scheme Lee and Kyle have been given the opportunity to develop their skills and implement them on a day to day basis, whilst in a real life work environment.
And recently Story Homes has taken on a further two apprentices, James Farrell a plasterer and Sam Gallagher a joiner, both 18, and also from the Blackpool area.
All four young apprentices have been placed at Story Homes’ Brookwood Park site in Kirkham
Comprising of 117 two to five-bedroom high specification homes, from apartments, terraced houses, semi-detached and detached properties, the development is estimated to take around two and a half years to complete.
The partnership between CTF and Story Homes is working to tackle the growing skills shortage in the construction industry along with creating opportunities and jobs for the local people in the area.
Rachel Donovan, Business Development Co-ordinator for Skills and Enterprise said: “Story Homes have been extremely supportive since we started working together in 2015 and have provided two of our apprentices with quality, supportive placements with so much success that they have extended their support to host an additional two apprentices in James and Sam.
“As the apprentices’ employer we really value supportive contractors such as Story Homes and enjoy seeing our apprentices happy in their work”
Sue Warwick, North West Managing Director for Story Homes said: “We are committed to providing young people with meaningful opportunities that help develop careers within the construction industry, and as such we are increasing the range of apprenticeships we offer going forward. We are also looking to take on more apprentices year on year through our own scheme.
“Encouraging young talent into the industry is hugely important — it’s vital for our business and for the whole construction sector.”
Through their work with Constructing the Future, contractors are helping to ensure the sector has fully qualified apprentices who will be able to make a significant contribution for years to come.
For more information on Constructing the Future please visit www.calico.org.uk/ctf
