On Saturday 10th June, Shingler Group invited eleven 16- to 18-year-olds to our construction workshop. They had all applied for our Apprenticeship Programme and had been selected out of many applications from students looking to join the construction industry.

The event began at 8am, where the students were given an introduction to the day by Shingler Group’s Managing Director, Jeremy Shingler. From there, they took part in three activities in groups of four, each focusing on different trades.

Workshop one focused on brickwork, where they were shown how to mix mortar and build, point and level bricks and blocks by one of our experienced bricklayers accompanied by a graduated apprentice.

Workshop two centred around carpentry, where they were shown how to make partition walling and create mitred and scribed joints by our Site Manager Mark Cronshey, assisted by one of our second-year apprentices.

Workshop three was paving, where our site Manager Paul Tunnah and another graduate apprentice showed the students how to lay herringbone block paving and slabs.

During the workshop, each student had an informal conversation with our directors, where they were asked about their anticipated exam results, any skillsets they may have, and why they are interested in joining the construction industry.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and the experience they got of the different trades and took the opportunity to talk to our current apprentices about their time on site.

Shingler Construction take pride in their apprenticeship programme, which allows school leavers to explore different elements of the construction industry.

The first year is our foundation year where apprentices rotate around all trades including brickwork, carpentry, groundwork, plastering, plumbing and electrics and customer service. This gives them a broad knowledge of all trades and enables them to make a fully informed decision on which area they would like to focus on. At the end of this year, the apprentice chooses their trade, and they are enrolled on the appropriate college course.

During the second and third year, apprentices’ study at college through a day-release course in their chosen trade whilst also working full time in their chosen discipline on site, learning all the time from our experienced tradespeople.

The fourth year focused on improving their skillset and working more and more independently. By the end of this year, there are opportunities for the students to progress onto higher level 3 or 4 qualifications or into more technical courses such as a BTEC in construction.

We have now finished recruiting Apprentices for 2023.

If you would like to register your interest for 2024, please contact us on info@shinglergroup.co.uk / 01939 291082

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