National Apprenticeships Week is a great opportunity to shine a light on the different ways companies celebrate their apprenticeship schemes, and Lovell is no different. The popularity of apprenticeship schemes are on the rise, with 162,320 people participating in apprenticeships in the last academic year (2022/23). This is an increase of over 18% from the previous year.
Apprenticeships are a great way to learn on the job, gain hands on experience, all whilst getting paid. Lovell are committed to their apprenticeship scheme and have many current apprentices throughout the business who are gaining the skills required for their chosen career. This year’s theme is ‘Skills for Life’ and we wanted to showcase some of the apprentices within the Eastern region at Lovell to learn more about their experience and what an apprenticeship means to them.
Haydn Withill joined Lovell as an Apprentice Bricklayer in January 2022 after hearing about how the Lovell sites were run and wanted to be a part of it. Since then, he has really grown into the role and made great progress. We sat down with Haydn to learn more about his journey so far;
“The most rewarding part of my apprenticeship so far is being able to meet people who will be friends for life, and being able to develop my skills. Since joining, I have gained what I think is the most important skill – people skills. Being able to communicate in the right manner is key to all aspects. My apprenticeship has given me the skills and confidence to succeed in future life. My advice for anyone thinking of starting an apprenticeship would be not to worry and take the step, as it’s a great opportunity for your future!”
Ashton Askin joined Lovell in September last year, also as an Apprentice Bricklayer. Ashton would like to follow in his father’s footsteps, who is currently a Site Manager at Lovell. Ashton tells us all about his experience so far;
“I want to become a Site Manager with Lovell. I want to be able to build nice homes for people to live in, and my apprenticeship has given me the platform to gain trade knowledge before I progress into management. – it’s a lot harder than I thought! My first day was quite scary, I didn’t know what to expect. But the whole team made me feel welcome. it’s a day I’ll never forget.”
Lovell takes on apprentices in all areas of their dynamic business, including sales. Cavanagh Stone joined Lovell in October of last year as a Trainee Sales Executive and since then is moving from strength to strength, completing sales on his own. Cavanagh gives us an insight into how his time has been so far;
“Lovell is a large company which boasts its commitment to training new staff. I recognised I was making a career change and needed to start from the beginning, so when I saw the apprenticeship Lovell was offering it was an easy decision. There is a lot more thought that goes into everything we do than I had initially realised! My advice would be to go down the route of apprenticeship if your situation fits. I couldn’t go back to full-time education, and there aren’t a lot of full-time courses available for the sales industry. It is definitely a career that would benefit from learning on-the-job.”
Apprenticeships expose you directly to how businesses are run, and they provide valuable insight into what different career paths can look like. And they work. Lily Crossley joined Lovell as an apprentice back in September 2017 due to leaving school after completing her GCSEs and was unsure of what career path she wanted to go down. Initially joining the company as a Business Admin Apprentice, this helped Lily discover new career avenues. Lily reflects on her Lovell career so far and how important the apprenticeship was;
“It allowed me to gain more confidence in a work environment as I was very shy and it made me step out of my comfort zone. I was also able to gain experience in different departments and meet new people. Halfway through my apprenticeship I was given the opportunity to become a Trainee Marketing Co-ordinator in the Sales Department, this allowed me to progress into a more desired role. The company was very keen to help in my progression, everyone is very friendly, and they were willing to help me learn. They also gave me the opportunity to change into a new role which had progression and further accomplishments.”
The success of Lovell comes from the strengths, skills and personalities of their people, who are committed to providing the best development opportunities in the industry. 4 times as many training days as the industry standard, overseen by regional training advisors, and supported by a dedicated national training centre. Currently, Lovell are employing 26 apprentices who are receiving the very best training and experience from one of the most respected construction firms in the UK.
At Lovell, they are fully committed to their apprenticeship programme as a vital tool in bringing new talent and skills into the business and the construction industry. To learn more about the apprenticeship programme and career opportunities at Lovell, please visit our website.
