As the UK celebrates National Apprenticeship Week, Tarmac, the UK’s leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business, has announced that it will create 100 new apprenticeships in the UK in 2018 – and five of these will be at the company’s Tunstead site near Buxton.
The programme is part of a major corporate commitment to help UK construction develop a talented, diverse and highly-skilled workforce. It covers roles across all the company’s nationwide business units – asphalt and aggregates, cement and lime, readymix concrete and contracting.
At Tunstead, where there are three operations covering cement and lime manufacture and stone quarrying, Tarmac is offering five new apprenticeships, starting in September this year – three mechanical and two electrical positions.
Each apprenticeship will last between one and four years with all recruits undertaking a year of vocational training at Chesterfield College, as well as receiving expert technical on-site training in their chosen discipline.
Fourth year mechanical apprentice, Liam Garner from Buxton said: “Tarmac’s apprenticeship scheme was the perfect opportunity for me to further progress my education and my technical skills, whilst at the same time offering me a position in which I could begin my career in the engineering profession.
“The transition from school straight to Tarmac and college was smooth. Workwise the apprenticeship has been brilliant for me, both in learning new skills and building confidence through the mutual respect and team work required for most of the tasks and the constant support and reassurance which I have received.
“I have also grown in confidence through the wide range of transferable skills I have received and opportunities which have been available to me, such as work based training courses, public displays and independent project management. I would encourage anybody who may be considering an apprenticeship to apply for the role within Tarmac as it would set them up with the required skills and qualifications for any job within the industry, whilst earning a good wage at the same time.”
Third year electrical apprentice Jamie Lowery added: “Tarmac’s apprenticeship scheme has given me the best opportunity to start a new career in the engineering industry. My work colleagues support me in every way to gain new skills, knowledge and experience in a wide range of tasks to enable me to become a qualified tradesman. I would highly recommend the Tarmac apprenticeship scheme to anybody who wants to work in engineering.”
Martin Riley, Senior Vice President for Tarmac started his career as an apprentice over 30 years ago and understands the importance of apprenticeships to the industry.
Martin said: “As a proud former apprentice, I’m passionate about giving young people the opportunity to train, build careers, and develop within this business. Our apprentices have personalised training and clear development that’s tailored to their strengths and ambitions. My aim is to make Tarmac the first company that apprentices think of when considering a career, and we want to work with them to train the future leaders of this industry.”
Tarmac is a member of the 5% Club, a movement of employers providing ‘earn and learn’ opportunities to develop the skills and talents people need to become more employable and create meaningful careers. For more information please visit www.tarmaccareers.com or call Marion Markham at Tunstead site on 01298768267.
Picture caption: Apprentices Liam (left) and Jamie celebrate National Apprentice Week by helping to launch five new apprenticeships on offer at Tunstead site.