National Apprenticeship Week 2022: How St. Modwen are helping Build the Future
This week, along with many other organisations, we’ve been celebrating National Apprenticeship Week. This annual event aims to bring the apprenticeship community together to shine a light on the differences that apprenticeships can make on individuals, employers, and the economy. This years theme is Build the Future, reflecting on the important role apprenticeships play in developing individual skills and securing industry talent. At St. Modwen, which provides us with the opportunity to present to you how St. Modwen are helping Build the Future through our Apprenticeships and Early Career Programmes.
Building partnerships to unlock potential
Part of our effort to Build the Future comes from our committed partnerships where we integrate initiatives and practices to help young people gain the education they need to thrive in their desired sector, whilst also gaining that valuable real-world working experience to unlock their potential. This aligns with our own ambition to have positive impact on over 20,000 young people by 2025.
Through these partnerships, we’ve been fortunate to welcome a number of ambitious apprentices over the past year to St. Modwen, including two apprentices in 2021 through our connection with Women in Construction, to help make more opportunities readily available for women in the industry, furthering our goal to have 40% of St. Modwen’s entire workforce represented by women by 2025. Our other key early careers partnerships include Burton and South Derbyshire College (BSDC), Ahead Partnership, Careers and Enterprise Company, Apprentice Ambassador Network, Home Builders Skills Partnership and many more.
The best thing about being an apprentice with St. Modwen is the fact that I can learn and earn at the same time. I’m building my future by learning on site with the NHBC apprenticeship scheme”
Bradley Davis, Apprentice Site Manager and BSDC Learner of The Year 2021
To break the barriers and stigma around the construction industry, we were able to recruit two apprentices in 2021 through our partnership with Women in Construction, to help drive the way for women to be a focal point of the industry, furthering our goal of having 40% of St. Modwen’s entire workforce represented by women by 2025.
Building opportunities for all
Apprenticeships are available for everyone, not just school leavers. 3 in 10 apprentices, trainees and recent graduates are over the age of 30. Apprenticeships provide excellent opportunities for career change and reinvestment into professional prospects. At St. Modwen, we’re working towards our ambition to achieve the National Equality Standard by 2025, enabling us to create opportunities and a working environment that celebrates our differences and offers an inclusive and supportive environment.
My perception before this job was that apprenticeships are only for young people. Never let your first impressions of a career get in the way of an opportunity”
Chloe Clowes, Apprentice Site Manager for St. Modwen Homes.
Apprenticeships offer a route into a range of careers. At St. Modwen, we’ve welcomed apprentices who have begun their career journey in a range of disciplines, from Site Management and Sales, through to group functions such as Finances and Marketing.
To secure the housebuilding and construction sectors future skills pipeline, we need more organisations to make similar early careers commitments to support the industry and encourage future talent.
Apprenticeships are fundamental to us delivering on our Education and Future Skills Ambitions at St. Modwen. We’re committed to 1 in 10 of our colleagues starting out early in their career. We need commitments like this across the sector if we are to build the future in the construction industry”
Sarwjit Sambhi, St. Modwen CEO
Get Involved with more of the action from National Apprenticeship Week
Hear Becky Cund, Head of HR Operations and Responsible People Projects at St. Modwen in conversation with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on how more organisations can and should take on apprenticeship schemes.
Watch here:
From apprentice takeovers, apprenticeship stories and sharing the perks of apprenticeships, head over to our Instagram channel to check out all our content from across the week.
To register your interest for apprenticeships with St. Modwen, head here.
