Apprenticeships

Filton location celebrates apprentices' achievements

- 22 Nov 16

A local house builder is celebrating the achievements of two of its Filton-based apprentices, after the youngsters were recognised at a leading training provider's awards ceremony.

Josh Walker, 21, and James Price, 20, are part-way through their three-year apprenticeships with Bovis Homes, and were thrilled to have been acknowledged at On Site Bristol's annual event.

Brickwork apprentice Josh received the special achievement award for his efforts at the Charlton Hayes development while James, who is tackling his level three plumbing apprenticeship, was nominated for top second year apprentice.

"James and Josh have really progressed working at Charlton Hayes," says Sue Brown, Training Co-ordinator at Bovis Homes. "We're really proud of their achievements and it's great that they have been able to celebrate their accomplishments at this awards ceremony."

Josh said: "It's great to be recognised for my achievements and I'm really pleased with the award. Working at Charlton Hayes has given me lots of hands-on experience and I've been able to learn my trade to a high standard.

"As I'm coming to the end of my apprenticeship, I've started thinking about what my next steps will be. I'd like to continue training and hopefully go on to become a site manager."

Bovis Homes, which was nominated for best large employer in the awards, has recently taken on more than 100 apprentices in both trade and office-based jobs across the country, learning new skills in a variety of areas including sales, carpentry, customer services and business administration.

Sue continues: "Our apprenticeship scheme gives young people a great start for their working careers. We provide support and training so they get the most out of their time with Bovis Homes. Many are often offered a position with us once they have completed their apprenticeship and it's great to see previous apprentices progress through the ranks!"

One former plumbing apprentice, Jack Baber, has progressed to site manager at Charlton Hayes since completing his apprenticeship in 2014, and is now overseeing and helping James and Josh's development.

The work at Charlton Hayes, which was previously 200 acres of disused Filton airfield, is halfway through its 12-year build programme. It is the biggest development project that Bristol has seen for two decades and will eventually bring more than 2,000 new homes to the area, as well as leisure facilities, landscaped open spaces and business and retail space. Bovis Homes' current locations at Charlton Hayes, Hempton Croft and Hempton Green, provide a variety of house types, ranging from two-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom family homes.