Carpentry students pay visit to new development in Thurston as part of National Apprenticeship Week

A group of 11 carpentry students from the Eastern Education Group (part of West Suffolk College) have paid a visit to a new development in Thurston to experience how carpenters operate within a live building site as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

Site manager Matthew Thurston, who started his career as a carpenter, and assistant site manager John Winter, introduced the youngsters to the teaching rigs used by the developers Bloor Homes, demonstrating the carpentry skills.

Students were given a full tour of the site, including the opportunity to view plots at different stages.

They also had the opportunity to talk to Bloor Homes’ current carpentry apprentices and ask questions of the developer’s dedicated Carpentry and Brickwork Apprentice Masters – Andy Scripps and Ray Amos – about working on site and the firm’s apprenticeship scheme.

Mr Thurston said: “This was a really good opportunity for the students to experience what it’s like to work on a live development and to meet and spend time with our current carpentry apprentices who showed them how they work practically in various applications.

“It was great to see the engagement between the students and our apprentices; there were lots of questions about construction practices, as well as our apprenticeship schemes.”

Unlike typical apprenticeships where students are placed with a carpenter or bricklayer and attend college once a week, Bloor Homes provides dedicated training under the guidance of two apprentice masters.

The Thurston Grove development is one of the Bloor’s training hubs across the country where young construction professionals can train and qualify whilst gaining valuable, hands-on experience.

The aim is to encourage talent into the industry and futureproof its workforce in and around Bury St Edmunds.

From day one, new apprentices work on a live development alongside other apprentices who support each other and learn together.

They are also provided with tools so they are not having to self-fund them and even pays for travel to and from site.

Andy Scripps, the carpentry apprentice master, said: “It was really good to see our current carpentry apprentices, many of whom were in the same shoes as these young students not so long ago, showing our visitors how they work practically in roof and internal applications, and engaging with them.”

Both the carpentry and brickwork apprenticeships across East Anglia, have been extremely successful, with many young professionals going on to work within site management, for local sub-contractors or even starting up their own businesses.

Gavin Featherstone, the carpentry lecturer at Eastern Education Group said: “Thank you to Bloor Homes for such an interesting and informative session for our students.

“The visit was really well structured and having the opportunity to speak with key people within the site and training teams, as well as the current apprentices, was invaluable.

“The whole experience really brought everything that they are learning in college to life.”