There’s more than meets the eye’ – Ingleton Wood apprentice urges young people to enter construction on World Youth Skills Day 2021 Monday, 19th July 2021

Young people including school leavers should consider a rewarding career in construction and not let misconceptions over limited job roles or career development stand in their way.

That’s according to Sam Boone, one of our amazing apprentices at Ingleton Wood, on World Youth Skills Day 2021. The United Nations initiative creates awareness over providing young people with the right employability skills.

Sam Boone, aged 21, was first introduced to Ingleton Wood in 2015 when he undertook a work experience role as part of his Design Engineer Construct GCSE. This led to a long-standing placement whilst studying his A Levels in the same subject.

After experiencing a range of different teams and services within the Practice, Sam found his niche in Building Services Engineering and secured a degree apprenticeship.

The Clacton-on-Sea youngster, who is celebrating three years at Ingleton Wood, said: “Before I started my initial course in Design Engineer Construct, I only thought there were two areas in the construction industry: brick laying and architecture.

“Since embarking on this journey however, it became apparent to me that there is much more to construction than meets the eye – whether you’re interested in Building Services, Planning, Mechanical Engineering, there are so many different paths you can take.

“For instance I’ve found my niche in Building Services, particularly Electrical Engineering, which is just one of the many routes into this part of the industry.

“Having the opportunity to work whilst learning has been so beneficial towards my career. I’ve been able to put what I’ve learnt into practice, particularly most recently when I worked on a high-voltage project which was for the distribution of power to the whole site. I was learning about this at university at the same time, so I was able to learn about electrical distribution and then apply this to my job.

“Ingleton Wood have given me so much support during my apprenticeship and I highly recommend this route for people who are interested in exploring the industry further.”

The Construction Industry Training Board says the industry has bounced back quicker than expected following the pandemic but found 217,000 recruits are still needed by 2025 to meet growing demand.

We currently have approximately 11 Apprentices operating across our offices as well as actively recruiting for an Engineering Industrial Placement at our Oxford office.

This placement enables youngsters to work on a variety of projects in a range of different services allowing them to find a role to match their passion, all whilst receiving the training to complement their studies and develop industry skills which are highly sought after.

Laura Mansel-Thomas, Senior Partner at Ingleton Wood, said: “World Youth Skills Day provides a fantastic opportunity to highlight the importance of work-based placements and other pathways for young people to join construction.

“We have amazing apprentices at Ingleton Wood and I agree with Sam that the myth of construction just being bricklaying on a construction site needs debunking. There is a wide variety of creative and stimulating career pathways, from building green energy infrastructure to improving transport systems, that all use the latest technology in different workplaces.

“Our apprenticeships and placements are a great way for local school leavers and other young people to discover their passion and pursue a career in their field. We are always looking to invest in more youngsters who are excited about the industry and the variety of possibilities it has to offer.”

To find out more about our current vacancies, visit our Job Opportunities page.

Sam Boone, Building Services Engineer Apprentice, urges young people to enter construction on World Youth Skills Day 2021

Sam Boone, Building Services Engineer Apprentice, and Laura Mansel-Thomas, Senior Partner