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Father and son colleagues reach new heights at Bishop’s Itchington–as there are four on site

- 05 Jun 19

Colleagues at a housebuilder in Bishop’s Itchington are reinforcing the saying ‘Like Father, Like Son’ – as there are four pairs working on the location.

Bovis Homes site manager, Ian Andrews, and his son Ben, who is his assistant, head up 12 workers, including sub-contractors, at the housebuilder’s Furrowfields development, on Knightcote Road.

Other father and sons include dad Andy and Guy Finch, Steve and Zach Parker, and Jason and Jack Barker.

And all are happy to be part of the team that has unveiled Bovis Homes’ new show home at the location. The four-bedroom Maple is part of the housebuilder’s new collection and is the first one to be built in the country.

Ian, from Meriden, has worked as a site manager for 13 years and said housebuilding runs through his family – with both his grandad, and his wife, Sharon, also having worked in the industry.

“Ben is a great assistant site manager and has picked up the nature of the job extremely well,” Ian said.

“He has a natural talent and has been learning parts of the role he has less experience in, like bricklaying.

“My grandad was a carpenter and my wife a sales negotiator for many years, so it’s definitely something that’s in the blood, but you have to pick up and develop the skills too.”

Ben, a former carpentry apprentice, has worked at Bovis Homes for three months and said it was fantastic to learn from his dad.

The 23-year-old, who attended Coventry College and also lives in Meriden, has spent three years in the industry, learning his trade as a carpenter before starting his current role. His work includes snagging, pre-plastering, brickwork and checking and finishing plots.

He said: “I’m learning a lot from my dad on site. It’s great to have him as a manager and use his experience, I’m learning new skills in trade and management every day.

“We have a brilliant team here and it’s amazing how many dads and sons there are on site!”
Ian is now looking to recruit another labourer as colleagues are starting the second phase of work at the site, which includes homes from the housebuilder’s new collection.

Jason said: “We have a great sense of camaraderie at Furrowfields in Bishop’s Itchington and it’s a pleasure to work with Jack and our colleagues at Bovis Homes.”

The teamwork is paying off on site as bricklaying apprentice Calum Prentice, 17, won Overall Apprentice of the Year at Bovis Homes' annual awards earlier this year, for his hard work and commitment. The team also won a commended best site award in the 2019 NHBC Health and Safety awards.

Bovis Homes’ new collection has been designed and developed by the company over the last 12 months and focuses on well-proportioned exteriors with a sense of light and flow on the inside.