‘Adult Apprentices’ - a first for homebuilder Small builders face serious barriers to growth
Small house builders and developers in the UK face serious barriers to growth with planning, access to finance and land availability highlighted as the biggest challenges for small companies. Research by the NHBC Foundation shows that there has been a significant decline in the number of small firms active in house building in recent years – halving between 2007 and 2013, with only 2,710 estimated to have been building last year. Continued on page 4 ...>
Development land in Carlton FISHER GERMAN Chartered Surveyors are offering for sale a residential development opportunity off Nailstone Road, Carlton near Nuneaton. The property comprises a 0.352 acre site with Outline Planning Permission (ref: 14/00311/OUT) for demolition of the existing house and outbuildings and the erection of up to 4 new dwellings. The property is being offered for sale by Informal Tender. For more information, contact Luke Brafield or Ben Marshalsay at Fisher German on 01530 567472 (email: luke.brafield@fishergerman.co.uk or ben.marshalsay@fishergerman.co.uk
Local homebuilder David Wilson Homes East Midlands has taken on 14 new apprentices, including several who are already well experienced in the construction industry. Four of the new intake will be the first ever non-school leavers, or ‘adult apprentices’, to be employed in this role by the company, as the Bardon-based homebuilder seeks to address a ‘generation gap’ in its workforce. The company, which has trained more than 100 apprentices in the last 12 years, will be employing the new starters to work on quality developments across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as the home building sector continues to grow. Each apprentice will work on an assigned development for part of their working week, as well as taking part in classroom based learning at a local college. 32-year-old Warren Yeoman, an apprentice joiner from Braunstone, said, “I’ve been working as a carpenter for years now, but I’ve never actually got the proper qualification, so I’m grateful to David Wilson Homes for taking me on and giving me the opportunity to finally get one.” Kyle Buswell, a 25-year-old apprentice joiner, also from Braunstone, said, “I’ve been working on sites for a while through agencies, but I’m at the age now where I want to be looking at something more permanent, and an apprenticeship should help me get that.” Ryan Thompson, a 26-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Leicester, said, “I’ve been labouring my whole working life, but I never got the qualifications when I was younger. I see this as a chance at getting into the industry properly and working my way up in the trade.”
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