So far, my apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to work well towards my career ambitions, and being in the industry for 4 years already at the age of 20 years old has given me a bit of an upper hand on people that have come straight from university.
Elliott Austin is a Civil Engineering Apprentice at Redrow Homes, studying at our Stephenson Campus in Coalville. Read below about his experience!
I wasn’t ever really interested in studying A Levels or going to University, so I went down the apprenticeship route instead. I found out through my brother that there was a job opportunity at Redrow, so I took that!
I decided to study an apprenticeship as I knew university wasn’t really for me - I wasn’t really much of an academic person and preferred hands-on learning rather than learning out of books and writing assignments, however, now that I’m doing more of it as part of my apprenticeship with the support of Redrow and the college, it’s actually helped me get better at writing!
Due to the experience you get by doing an apprenticeship as opposed to university, I feel that it gears you up for life a lot better. Not only do you get the experience of being on the job, you also get the experience of being able to talk around adults and work in a team, it’s also valuable life skills as well.
I like studying at the SMB College Group because you meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds. Our course in particular, we have 6 or 7 different companies for all different kinds of construction, and you get to see from different people’s points of view and perspectives and how it works in their companies.
Personally, I’ve always been interested in the construction industry. I’ve always been interested in building things and thinking of new ideas. Ever since I’ve joined it, I’ve loved being involved and hands-on in different projects, being part of a team, and being able to actually design and create something and see it in fruition once it’s been built is really satisfying.
There’s no limit to my career ambitions, I’d like to go as far as I possibly can and the sky’s the limit! So far, my apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to work towards it well and being in the industry for 4 years already, at the age of 20 years old, has given me a bit of an upper hand on people that have come straight from university.
For people considering to apply for an apprenticeship in the construction industry, I would say just do it! It’s something that you learn as you go and you need to ask questions and be inquisitive, I know that’s quite stereotypical of an apprenticeship but you really need to not be afraid of asking questions and getting stuck in!
Some of the other skills you can get from apprenticeships that aren’t always talked about is the life skills you get, it’s not just skills in the construction industry and it’s not just getting paid on the job. I started paying into my pension early at 16 years old, I’ve started saving for a house at 16 years old, and I’m 20 years old now and I feel that this has given me a big boost and an upper hand on other people.