IN TODAY’S evermore competitive job market, work experience is often the key to climbing the career ladder.
So, as seven undergraduates embark on a year-long placement with Redrow Homes, they know it will stand them in good stead for the future.
The award winning housebuilder’s undergraduate training programme is designed to recognise and nurture future talent. It comes as Redrow also recruits 20 new apprentices and a number of post-graduate trainees.
One of the promising students is Audrey Bushe, 20, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, who is studying for a BA honours degree in business management and human resources. Originally from Zimbabwe, Audrey moved to the UK with her family in 2004.
Audrey spends part of her working week at Redrow’s head office in Ewloe, Flintshire, and the rest at Redrow’s dedicated training centre in Tamworth, Staffs. Just a month into her course, she is confident the experience has already enhanced her skill set. “It’s a steep learning curve,” she said. “But I’m coping with the workload and already feel like I’ve learnt a lot and been able to put into practice what I’ve learnt on my degree course.”
The other students on the course are based at Redrow’s divisional offices and sites around the UK. Joe Davies is based at Redrow Homes (NW) in Flintshire, Josh Ward-Jones is based on a Redrow Midlands’ site in Worcester, James Morgan at the South Wales office in Cardiff and Joe Jackson in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
After the recession left him unemployed, 26-year-old Liverpool John Moores University student Neal Lunt’s luck changed when he secured the placement.
Neal, from West Kirkby, Wirral, is studying for a BSc honours degree in construction management and is based on site at Redrow’s Kenyon Gardens and Hanson Gardens developments in Moston, Manchester. “I always wanted to go into the housebuilding industry,” he said. “It was hard losing my job during the recession but I saw it as an opportunity to improve my qualifications and move into management. Redrow is a great company to work for and I’d really like to be taken on full time once I have completed my course.”
Rio Daniel, 20, who lives in Paignton, is her third year at Cardiff University where she is studying a City and Regional Planning degree.
“I am really pleased to have been offered the chance to gain work experience while I study,” said Rio, who is currently working within the Land and Planning team at Redrow’s South West office in Bristol. “I heard about the programme through my university and I was very excited about the opportunity to work for a well-known housebuilder, like Redrow. In the current climate, employers value experience more than ever so it’s helpful to offer more than just a degree if you want to get noticed.”
Richard Beadsmoore, training manager for Redrow, says: “We are delighted to be offering our under-graduate trainee programme for the second year running since it was reintroduced last year. As unemployment among young people continues to rise, we see it as an invaluable tool for them to be able to get a foothold on the career ladder and give them a competitive edge when they come to seek full-time employment after graduating.”
Redrow builds around 2,500 new homes annually across England and Wales, with an emphasis on traditional, detached family housing from its New Heritage Collection. The company directly employs more than 900 people and provides employment for thousands of sub-contractors on its housing sites. Its commitment to training and staff development is evident in the purpose-built training centre in Tamworth.
For more on career opportunities with Redrow, go to www.redrowplc.co.uk/Careers-And-Recruitment; for details of their new homes around the UK visit www.redrow.co.uk.
