Publication Date: 08-02-2024 09:00
Bellway announces its national Apprentice of the Year
National housebuilder Bellway has recognised its brightest young talent at its annual apprenticeship awards, announced Thursday 8 February 2024.
Bricklayer Sophie Curtis, 19, from Jarrow, was named the company’s Apprentice of the Year. She works for Bellway’s Durham division at the Church View development in Callerton, near Newcastle, which is being built under the Ashberry Homes brand.
The runner-up prize went to 29-year-old Trainee Assistant Site Manager Charlie Devlin. She works for Bellway’s Scotland East division at The Almond development in Livingston, West Lothian.
And two other apprentices were highly commended: Ollie Wynne-Williams, 20, a Technical Apprentice based at Bellway’s Northern Home Counties divisional head office in Milton Keynes; and Jessi-Lou Baker, 21, a Finance Apprentice with the Bellway Essex division based in Chelmsford. Sophie’s award comes just over a month after she received her Level 2 qualification in bricklaying at the end of last year. And she has no doubts that becoming an apprentice rather than going to college full-time was definitely the right route for her.
She said: “You can be earning right away. When you are on the job you are learning from real life experience which you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
Now she is planning her next step and hopes to train as an assistant site manager.
She said: “I want to work my way up into management. That’s my next goal and Bellway is supporting me with this.”
And she would encourage any girls thinking about following in her footsteps with an apprenticeship in the construction industry to go ahead.
She said: “I’d say don’t be scared and just go for it because it’s the best thing you’ll ever do.”
Bellway Group HR Director Heidi Khoshtaghaza said: “Sophie is an exceptional apprentice. She is hardworking and keen to learn and has proved herself to be worthy of the title of Bellway Apprentice of the Year. Congratulations to her and all those honoured this year.
“Choosing the apprenticeship route is the perfect fit for many young people who are keen to build a successful career, and who want to combine their studies with on-the-job training. As Sophie rightly says, it gives you work experiences that you can’t get any other way.
“At Bellway, we are extremely proud of the fact that five per cent of our workforce is made up of apprentices, trainees, or graduates. We believe very strongly in nurturing our own talent and these awards recognise the vital contribution our apprentices make to the business.
“They will be the managers of the future and they are building strong foundations for that by taking part in our apprenticeship and training programmes.”
For more information about Bellway’s apprenticeship programme, visit: https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/our-programmes/apprenticeship-programme.
