National Apprenticeship Week in Construction: Celebrating the path to success

It was National Apprenticeship Week last week, a time to celebrate the hands-on learning and skill-building opportunities which apprenticeships provide. Whether you’re just starting out, looking to upskill or changing careers entirely, apprenticeships hold great value in building a practical route for your career goals.
In this blog, we will spotlight 5 industry leaders in construction who offer an apprenticeship initiative.

Flannery

Leaders of the UK plant hire industry, Flannery offers construction equipment hire and mentoring services to construction workers and sites across the UK and Ireland. Established in 1972, Flannery have developed partnerships over the past 5 decades with some major household brands, such as Caterpillar, JCB, Volvo and Hitachi. As a family-run business, Flannery Plant Hire upholds strong values centred on people, safety, innovation, sustainability, and value, striving to deliver excellence in service and plant standards across the UK.

For National Apprenticeship Week, Flannery have created a mini-series about their apprenticeship offerings and their ethos surrounding them. They’ve offered information and guidance about eligibility for apprenticeships and have given apprentices across their company the opportunity to share their experiences. Following their learning initiative, Flannery have been shortlisted for the Learning Excellence Awards alongside the likes of BMW Group and Lloyds Banking Group.

Ardmore Group

Award-winning, family-owned design & build contractor. Ardmore specialises in traditional, hands-on approaches to make things more cost-effective and efficient within their large-scale construction projects across the UK. Established in 1974 Ardmore have built a reputation for delivering complex projects through direct delivery capabilities, technical expertise, and proactive risk management over the last 5 decades.

For National Apprenticeship Week, Ardmore shared some stories from their current and past apprentices who work within their company, showing how an apprenticeship truly can lead to a long-term career. They wanted to highlight the value of apprenticeships and share the benefits that come along with taking part in an apprenticeship initiative.

RED Construction

Independent and agile, RED Construction specialises in structural alterations, refurbishment and fit-out projects worth up to £10m in London and up to £35m in surrounding areas. Established in 2015, RED have grown quickly within the contracting market in London, without relying on any government support. Red now has 3 divisions, RED London, RED South West and RED Special Projects.

For National Apprenticeship Week, RED have voiced their opinions of the benefits of apprenticeships. They have 14 apprentices placed across their business, which out of their 180 employees is nearly 10%. This shows their commitment to learning and development, and their pledge to invest in future talent.

McAleer & Rushe

One of the UK’s leading specialist design and build contractors, McAleer & Rushe is a family-run business which was established in 1967. Over the past nearly 60 years, McAleer have developed a reputation for timely completion of their projects, while maintaining a high quality of standards. They offer a fully funded apprenticeship scheme, in partnership with Ulster University.

For apprenticeship week, McAleer invited their apprentices past and present to discuss their experiences with the McAleer & Rushe apprenticeship scheme. This mini-series provided insight into people’s reasoning for choosing an apprenticeship, along with the benefits of doing so, and a snapshot of what the apprentices who have progressed further into a career are doing now.

Murphy

A specialist in multi-disciplined engineering and construction, operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the USA. Established in 1951 Murphy initially began to work on war regeneration projects. Since then Murphy have expanded over several nations to provide specialist solutions to infrastructure sectors such as transportation, water and power. Murphy offers various apprenticeships across their company, providing opportunities not only for young people but also for those wanting to upskill or change their careers.

For apprenticeship week, Murphy shared stories from their previous apprentices, and listed advice on where to apply for their schemes. They shared experiences to show the benefits of an apprenticeship initiative at various stages of life, while also displaying where a career can go following the completion of an apprenticeship with Murphys.

Overall these companies and apprentices all share the values that apprenticeships are a fantastic way to learn on the job, they offer a means of learning practical skills that you may not pick up in a classroom.

Check out this interview we did with Amber from RED Construction, discussing their initiative to introduce new people into the construction industry and check out our job opportunities here