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.
Read moreTawona Mativi
"I'm really enjoying my bricklaying apprenticeship and laying bricks. I’ve noticed in my first few weeks at the NHBC Training Hub how much I have already improved."
- Name
- Tawona
- Company
- GSQ Brickwork partnership
- Apprenticeship
- Bricklaying
I’ve always lived in Cambridge, but I was born in Zimbabwe. I went back to visit family there six years ago. My dad worked as a cleaner and he now works in auto cad but was recently made redundant and my mum teaches stain glass. I left school at 16 and went to college and studied business, but I didn’t like it and left. I then went to another college and did architecture, but I didn’t like that either. I then went to work in construction as a general labourer, followed by demolition and I got my forklift licence. I used the money to travel and went to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
When I came back, I went into hod carrying but I could never get on the trowel. I’m pretty fit so I made a good hod carrier, but the problem was because I was good at it, they didn’t want to move me off of it, so it became a bit of a dead end and was really taxing physically. I saw the bricklaying apprentice advertised at the NHBC Training Hub in Cambridge, so I applied and got it.
I'm really enjoying my bricklaying apprenticeship and laying bricks. I’ve noticed in my first few weeks at the NHBC Training Hub how much I have already improved. I enjoy working outside as I've never been an office job kind of person. I just couldn't sit in an office all day as I feel I would get very fat very quickly. When I was at school, I thought about doing an apprenticeship, but I was discouraged by my teachers who said you don’t want to do that, you want to go to university. Looking back, it is bad they said that, and I don’t know why they felt an apprenticeship would not be a good route for me. I guess everyone had the mindset that you have to go to university to make anything of yourself, but you can really make yourself in housebuilding by getting an apprenticeship. If I had that time over again, I would done this apprenticeship straight out of school.
The trainers at the NHBC Training Hub are really good and helpful. If you have a problem, they show you what you need to do. It doesn’t feel like school at all. The hub itself has its own classroom section, changing rooms and a large outdoor area where we do our practical training. I like the fact this is a fast-track apprenticeship which can be completed in as little as 14 months. Other apprenticeships are two years or more, or you have to go to college full-time.
At the NHBC Training Hub, I’m learning and earning at the same time. The mix of learning at the hub and then going out onto site to put each part I have learnt into practice is what makes this apprenticeship so good. I’m really focused on getting this qualification and once I’ve achieved it, I’d like to work my way up the ladder to a supervisor role.
Brickwork and the housebuilding industry offer a good salary and I don’t think a lot of people know that. It’s not seen as glamorous but it’s really good pay and a great career. Closing the skills gap is a great opportunity for me as there is going to be a drop off in bricklayers, it means I can make a difference and a decent wage.
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.
I would recommend this course to anyone starting out in construction management to provide you with a strong foundation of which can be built upon.
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