Redrow is set to welcome 80 new trade apprentices as the nation awaits A-Level results.
As young people across the UK await their A-Level results on Thursday, Redrow is preparing to welcome its latest intake of more than 80 trade apprentices. The new cohort means that 15% of the housebuilder’s workforce will be enrolled on a structured training programme such as an apprenticeship or graduate scheme. By September this year there will be almost 300 people in apprenticeship roles across the company in trade, administration, technical and commercial roles.
Its latest cohort of 81 trade apprentices will be enrolled on traditional programmes such as bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing and electrical, as well as painting and decorating, groundworks, ceramic tiling, scaffolding and buildings maintenance.
Redrow saw more than 300 apprentices enrol on its trade-specific scheme between 2015 and 2018 alone.
Redrow targets school leavers for housebuilding degree
The company’s apprentices include Bailey Holland-Knightly, a 17-year-old apprentice at Redrow’s Padcroft development in West Drayton, London. Currently she is 11 months away from being a qualified painter and decorator. Bailey said: “Whilst at school, I was told by my teachers that I wouldn’t pass any of my exams and my career prospects were limited. It was only once I left school and started attending my local study centre that they introduced me to apprenticeship opportunities in painting and decorating at Redrow.”
She continued: “My mum is a painter and decorator and I’d often join her on jobs when I was younger, so I already had a taste of what it entailed and so I was thrilled when Redrow accepted me on to their apprenticeship programme.”
Bailey joined as an apprentice at 16 and attends college classes once a week as part of her NVQ Level 2 qualification. During the rest of the working week, Bailey benefits from on-the-job training at Padcroft, where Redrow is providing one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Redrow’s latest apprenticeship report canvassed 2,000 16 to 21 year olds to understand their attitudes towards apprenticeships. When asked to select which financial implications they associate with doing an apprenticeship 65% said ‘earning money while studying and not incurring student debt’, while another 41% said they associate it with providing ‘greater financial independence at an earlier age than continuing to study full-time’.
Karen Jones, Group HR director at housebuilder Redrow, said: “Apprentices are a vital component for ensuring the success of our economy, which is why we are committed to investing in the next generation of construction industry talent.”
To discover more about an apprenticeship at Redrow click here.
