Brad Lines
After completing an apprenticeship in carpentry Brad wanted to push himself further and has now become the first person to attain the Level 4 Construction Site Supervisor (CSS) apprenticeship with NHBC and Redrow.
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EMPLOYEE CASE STUDY
Lily Wren, Taylor Wimpey: NHBC's Apprenticeship scheme
- Name
- Lily Wren
- Company
- Taylor Wimpey
- Apprenticeship
- Construction Site Supervisor
NHBC, the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, passed a major milestone at the start of 2021, having welcomed more than 5,000 candidates through its NVQ training programmes, 20 years since they were first introduced.
Over recent years NHBC’s NVQ offering has been specially tailored to provide a greater focus on key house-building areas, at Levels 3 to 7, mainly around Construction Site Management.
A construction NVQ is a benchmark qualification that proves occupational competence to employers. Some NVQs, which can also be the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree, lead to membership of professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
Last year also saw the launch of NHBC’s first-ever apprenticeship scheme which has now welcomed over 100 candidates onto the initiative and helped lead to the opening of NHBC’s new training hub in Tamworth at the end of May.
One person who has taken advantage of both the NVQ scheme and apprenticeship program is 22 year-old Lilly Wrenn from Taylor Wimpey, who began her NVQ and started the NHBC apprenticeship for Construction Site Supervisor last November.
We spoke with Lilly in the next installment of our case study series looking at NHBC’s training offerings…
- How is your apprenticeship going?
The first seven months have flown by and have gone really well. I have been learning on the NHBC apprenticeship with day release from Taylor Wimpey to my role of Trainee Site Manager, to either be at college or work on the NHBC course. The apprenticeship runs for 18 months, with the NVQ running alongside over 10 months.
- Tell us about your career to date
Following school and sixth form I joined Taylor Wimpey in 2018 as a Site Manager Trainee in Ashford, Kent. My dream is to eventually be involved in property restoration so having researched ways of achieving this I thought that a career in construction on site would allow me to learn, earn money and grasp some of the basics of house building. After a couple of years I decided that a Level 4 NVQ would help even further.
- How has the course been so far?
It’s been great and the NHBC assessors very helpful. The online learning portal has been easy to use and is where we can upload examples of our work and complete tests and coursework. We’ve covered a range of areas; everything from technical standards, health and safety, communication and also products and services.
- And what next for you?
We are already well into it and have covered a lot of ground. Once I’ve completed it I would like to get some more experience on site and see what other training options are available to me. One of the benefits of this industry is that it’s constantly evolving, so who knows what new opportunities may arise in the future. I would also like to save up so I can get on the property ladder myself.
- Finally, would you recommend an NVQ course or an apprenticeship for anyone starting out in their construction careers?
Yes without a doubt. If you are just beginning it is a great way of learning or if you are having a career-change people, regardless of age, should look to the industry and see what roles are out there.
I’ve enjoyed the course and I really liked the mix of one-to-one support and the chance to learn on your own.
It’s been great and the NHBC assessors very helpful. The online learning portal has been easy to use and is where we can upload examples of our work and complete tests and coursework.
I have enjoyed learning about the house-building processes. It’s filled so many gaps I had in my knowledge and it’s good to now be able to walk around the site being able to apply this new knowledge in reality.
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