Reece Osborne, Bloor Homes: NHBC's Apprenticeship Scheme

Reece had been looking for an opportunity to get into bricklaying since school and was pleased to finally find one through an apprenticeship with Bloor Homes and training at the NHBC Bricklaying Hub in Tamworth.

Background

Reece had been keen to get into bricklaying after his GCSEs, but there weren’t many options available when he first left school. Undeterred, Reece took the opportunity to try a few other practical roles including working in flooring and warehousing, as well as a role as an electrical assembler for Bombardier.

Support with learning

Bricklaying was something that had always appealed to Reece, so he was delighted to get the opportunity to complete an apprenticeship with Bloor Homes. Reece said “Bloor and my site manager have been brilliant - they’ve given me a lot of support and really helped me focus on learning. This, as well as the teaching at the hub, has all helped me improve my brickwork and it’s great to be able to apply all the things I’ve learned on site!” 

Skills for life

NHBC has worked to support the house-building industry and help provide a solution to the skills shortage through its bricklaying hubs.

By employing knowledgeable tutors with first-hand site experience to deliver the apprenticeship students benefit from years of advice and guidance in an accurately recreated a site environment.

Reece said “I’ve really enjoyed the apprenticeship and the hub space is great as it gets you used to working outside at different temperatures so it’s a lot more like how you operate on site.

I also liked the variety. At the hub you use lots of different types of bricks instead of the same ones all the time. This gives you chance to learn quickly with different kinds that you might normally only encounter working across different sites over quite a long time.

My time at the hub also helped me understand the importance of maturity and professionalism, again something that’s helped me develop myself and given me confidence in what I’m doing.

I’m also glad I pushed myself to do Functional Skills at Level 2 to improve my maths and English as this gives me another qualification and could help me in my career in the future.”

Looking forward to a future in construction

Reece has not only successfully completed his apprenticeship and gained great brickwork skills he can use on site, he also opted to take on the challenge of Functional Skills at Level 2. This means he’s gained additional qualifications in maths and English ready for any other roles he might progress into later.

Hannah Burgess, Head of Human Resources at Bloor Homes said ‘We’re all hugely proud of Reece’s achievement in brickwork as well as his hard work on his Functional Skills. The fact Reece chose to push himself and get Level 2 in Maths and English is a testament to him and the way the apprenticeship with NHBC offers a rounded program that gives learners skills for the here and now, and for any future roles and responsibilities they might want to progress to.”

NHBC is proud to support apprenticeships that benefit both the individuals and the needs of house builders at a crucial time for the house-building industry to begin addressing the skills gap.