One of the leading female figures in UK construction has launched a new initiative to highlight the range of roles on offer to apprentices, by telling the stories of those already inside the industry.
Julie White, the managing director of Warwickshire-based D-Drill & Sawing and the chair of Build UK, is speaking to apprentices within her own company and others across the supply chain to showcase the wide range of opportunities that construction offers.
Julie has been an advocate for training and apprenticeships for well over a decade, with D-Drill’s team being made up of more than 80 per cent of staff who have been through an apprenticeship. Julie, herself, has also completed one!
Now, in her new web-based feature called ‘The Real Apprentice – You Are Hired’, Julie is putting a spotlight on real people in the industry.
She said: “Anyone who knows me, knows I’m passionate about two things! The wonderful world of construction – and bringing through the next generation of workers.
“Construction and the very niche industry of diamond drilling and concrete sawing have been part of my life from since I can remember as my dad, Peter, ran D-Drill for many years having started the business in 1967 before I bought the company in 2008.
“I think that’s why it’s so embedded in my life.
“Yes, D-Drill is my business but the reason it gets me out of bed every day is I know what we are doing has a positive impact on the world. Without construction, there’d be no houses, hospitals, roads or schools. No offices, factories, shopping centres or warehouses. Come to think of it, there wouldn’t be much at all.
“That is why I have thrown myself into supporting the industry and speaking out for it whenever I can and, hence, why I am so proud to be chair of Build UK during its tenth anniversary year.
“Build UK is the largest trade body for the whole industry, covering tier one contractors through to associations covering individual, specialist trades within the sector.
“One of the biggest issues that has been identified across construction is the need for more people to come into the industry – 50,000 new entrants a year, in fact.
“That is why Build UK staged Open Doors, where sites and places of work opened up to the public in March, and that is why I am so proud that we attracted more than 7,000 visitors across the country.
“It’s also why I’ve decided to pursue some great stories of my own by talking to apprentices at different stages of their career in the industry in a new series called: The Real Apprentice – You Are Hired!
“I’ve been chatting to some of D-Drill’s own apprentices but also hearing from people at other companies in the industry to find out why they decided this was the path they wanted to take, how they are finding it and what their aspirations are for the future.”
The stories are already appearing here: https://www.d-drill.co.uk/news
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