Building successful career foundations with Taylor Wimpey and Geason

Three apprentices celebrate distinctions in the new Bricklayer Standard.

Taylor Wimpey, in partnership with Geason, were delighted to celebrate the first distinctions earned by their apprentices in the new Bricklayer apprenticeship standard.

The national housebuilder has been supporting their apprentices over several months and the achievements of three apprentices, Luke Acford (pictured right), Jamie Allen and Josh Ellis are even more remarkable given the periods of lockdown that have occurred over the last year.

We spoke to Lisa Beresford, Apprentice Manager, from Taylor Wimpey and Lisa Jones-Hill, Operations Manager from Geason, on their experiences with the apprentices as they nurtured them through to a successful EPA assessment.

Lisa Beresford from Taylor Wimpey was thrilled to see her apprentice’s success, the first three distinctions at EPA recorded by City & Guilds for the new Bricklayer standard.

“We have watched and supported our apprentices right the way through their apprenticeship programme, and through some extremely challenges times. To see their achievements means a huge amount to us, as they are now set to embark on their future careers.”

Working through lockdown was challenging for all, but the relationships and trust that were forged between Taylor Wimpey, Geason and City & Guilds ensured a strong network of support, all focused on the apprentice’s success.

As Lisa Jones-Hill from training provider Geason commented.

“The apprentices built up fantastic rapport with the assessor during the training period and I have been present onsite a lot this year, supporting them in a real-life construction environment. The communication skills, problem solving and resilience that they have built up over this time will really set them up for the world of work.”

The on-programme element of the apprenticeship has seen the apprentices draw on digital resources more than ever, and this, combined with practical personal support from their training provider, employer and City & Guilds has really benefitted them;

Lisa Jones-Hill continues; “We tapped into the digital resources in SmartScreen during the last 12 months, and the Technical Advisor at City & Guilds Jason Howe has been very supportive with organising a number of workshops for us”.

Lisa personally worked with all three apprentices, honing their skills for end-point assessment.

“We did a lot of work on the professional discussion element with the apprentices, and they needed that support and practice for that part of the assessment. By the end of the training, they were very confident and that played out well at EPA”

The three apprentices are now working for sub-contractors and have used their success as a springboard for future careers.

Luke Acford expressed his sense of achievement when he heard he received a distinction.

“I’m really happy with how my apprenticeship went and even happier to have gained a distinction at my end-point assessment. The course was very well put together, teaching us all aspects of bricklaying”.

Lisa Beresford at Taylor Wimpey summed up the experience.

“It is fantastic to see the skills and confidence of the apprentices grow, and to see the impact they are now making in their new roles with the knowledge and skills gained. We see apprenticeships as a cornerstone of our talent strategy that will serve us and our customers well.”