Marking Scottish Apprenticeship Week with one trainee’s tale.
To mark the start of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 today, we tell the story of one trainee on a recently completed Hub North project.
On his 17th birthday Conall Cheshire was given an unexpected present – an apprenticeship.
One phone call saw him switch him from being a pupil at Bridge of Don Academy in Aberdeen to an apprentice joiner with Morrison Construction.
Ironically, he left school to go back to school, helping build the new £17 million Countesswells Primary School Hub North Scotland project on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
The Countesswells site had already proved to be the key to Conall landing a four-year apprenticeship with Morrison, who were Hub North’s main contractor on the project. He had spent a week-long work experience spell there in the early stages of the project.
He had impressed the site team with his interest and abilities during week and that led to him being selected for an interview with Morrison Building North-East Construction Manager Michael Black.
Michael, who was originally a Morrison apprentice himself, explained: “The site team score all the work experience pupils we take in and we then interview the ones rated highest. At the interviews I tell them ‘I started off sitting where you are sitting today.’
“Conall stood out for me because he was able to tell me everything he had been doing during the week, such as kit building, and the level of detail he gave me was exceptional.”
Conall admitted he was surprised by the birthday phone call offering him the job: “I never expected it. It was such a great feeling to get the job and it all happened so quickly.”
Within a few weeks he found himself back at Countesswells, this time as a paid apprentice, learning on the job and with block release classes at the North East College Altens campus in Aberdeen.
Conall said: “Countesswells was really good as you saw all the other trades working around you, there was loads of things going on with electricians, plumbers or people doing cladding. It was a great environment to work in and the building was massive as well.”
He added: “I have been going to college for four week blocks, learning about skills, drawings and on site I have been putting up partitions, sheeting, flooring and ceiling joists. Everyone on site has been really good and very helpful with passing on things.”
Morrison Building North-East currently have 13 apprentices on their team, four others joined along with Conall and managing director Mike Bruce has pledged to take on five joinery apprentices a year in the medium term and the recruitment process for this year’s intake is already underway.
Mike leads a team of colleagues who regularly visit secondary schools across the North-east of Scotland to tell the Morrison story and spell out the benefits of construction apprenticeships.
Fostering these direct relationships with schools and teaching staff is an approach that is working well for Morrison and brings long term benefits.
Mike said: “The vast majority of our construction and commercial team began with us as apprentices or trainees, indeed three members of my board and I started with Morrison direct from school. We don’t hire apprentices simply as a box ticking exercise for a project KPI, we offer them a proper career with clear pathways for progression with us.”
Meanwhile, Conall is delighted to get an opportunity: “Joinery has always been the trade I have wanted to do. I enjoyed woodwork at school and thought I would be good at it. It was hard trying to find any apprenticeships which was why I was so chuffed to get one with Morrison. It was a good feeling.
“After Countesswells, I have been working on an Aberdeen City Council void flats project and I will be starting on the new Torry Primary School project soon. I have enjoyed every site I have been on so far.
“I am loving every minute of it and later on, when I am older and more experienced, I think I might like to go for a site manager’s job. “