Colchester MP Bob Russell tried his hand as a joinery apprentice for the day. 
Learning from new apprentice Luke White, he visited GS Contracts, at Moorside, in Colchester, to find out just what it takes to be an apprentice, and to support apprenticeship programmes. 
GS Contracts director Sue Smith says for firms like hers, apprenticeships are the way to go. 
She said: “We have been taking on apprentices every year for 20 years now and it is really the only way to safeguard the future of our business. 
“At one time you couldn’t recruit someone with the skills you needed, so you had to take on apprentices. We have just continued doing that.” 
GS Contracts manufactures any products that require joinery skills for interiors of buildings, such as catering establishments, receptions and shops.
After making products at the workshop on site, the pieces are  installed on construction sites. 
The firm’s apprentices have the chance to work on a construction site and gain experience in other areas of the business. Currently GS Contracts has four apprentices – one in their first year, two in the second and one in the third year. 
They are all working for an NVQ in bench joinery. 
Apprentices start in the summer after they finish school, so they have two months experience in the workplace before starting their college course in September.
Sue says: “We are a strong believer in workplace training. It allows the apprentice to grow with the company.”
Mr Russell said: “I enjoyed experiencing first-hand what a joinery apprenticeship involves. 
Apprenticeships play a vital role in providing lasting and successful careers in construction. 
“Apprentices bring many benefits to employers like GS Contracts. 
It has never been more important to support and encourage more young people and employers to participate in and develop apprenticeships.”

 

 

Foundations for future

MP Bob Russell’s visit was organised by GS Contracts and the CITB, which the Industry Training Board for the construction industry and a partner in ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council. 
CITB predicts there will be 200,000 new roles in construction in the next five years. Current and former apprentices make up more than 40 per cent of the workforce at GS Contracts. 
GS Contracts’s Sue Smith  said: “Apprenticeships are vital to our success. There is no substitute for on-site experience an apprenticeship offers.
To find out more about construction apprenticeships and opportunities in the sector go to citb.co.uk/apprenticeships