You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Diary of an apprentice
To raise awareness of national apprenticeship week, Liam kept a weekly diary for Inside Housing to lift the lid on life as an apprentice.
Teenage apprentice Liam McMahon sent out 1,500 job applications and was unemployed for around 18 months before he began an apprenticeship in the housing industry.
The 18-year-old apprentice from Corby in Northamptonshire left school without many qualifications and was out of work for almost two years, before spending three months at Morthyng Training Academy, which led to a work placement with Keepmoat subcontractor A and G Construction.
Liam, who left Bishop Stopford High School at 16, now attends Tresham College in Corby one day a week as part of his apprenticeship.
He said: ‘I probably sent over 1,500 applications during the 18 months I was out of work.
‘I left school without many qualifications and was also told that I didn’t have the experience I needed to get a full time role.
‘Working in housing has given me a trade and I now hope I will never be out of work again
‘I have gained life changing skills through being an apprentice and those skills will only increase as I get further into the apprenticeship. Every day I am learning something new and interesting but most importantly gaining valuable skills that I will use for the rest of my life.’
Monday 3rd February
Today we began working on the roof of the flats. There’s 22 flats and 28 houses being built as part of Arran Rise. Today the roofing work involved erecting the trusses until plumb and level where they were then held in position with temporary bracing. Once all of the trusses are temporarily braced we then apply the diagonal and straight bracing.
I started my apprenticeship in August when the weather was beautiful. The storms over the last few weeks have made it more difficult to do work. We still come in every day but the high winds mean that on some days we’re only able to do certain jobs.
Tuesday 4th February
Still working on the roofs. Today we focused on applying the facia and soffit boards. We also built the frame and fitted the skylight for the main hallway in the flats.
Roofs and stairs are difficult. I didn’t really have a clue how to do them when I started and they took longer to learn than cladding.
Many of the Keepmoat houses have already been taken and it’s really nice to see people moving in already. It makes you happy that you’ve played a part in building their home.
Wednesday 5th February
On Wednesday’s I go to Tresham College in Corby. Today at college we received our end test results for first fix focussed on roofing and windows. I passed this test with the highest mark in the class and now we’re preparing for the next end test focussing on skirting boards and in-depth roofing.
Going to college is great, they teach us some of the more traditional methods of carpentry which is interesting. I love the site work and I learn about trussed roofs on site but they’ve also taught me about cut roofs at college. Sometimes the college work can be more challenging but it’s good to be challenged.
Thursday 6th February
We set up all the kit in preparation for starting the cladding on the flats. The first step to this was applying the felt and baton on the outside of the building for the cement board cladding to be fixed to. It’s really good working on a new build site. You learn more because you get to see the houses put up from scratch. It’s satisfying doing the cladding and putting the finishing touches to it because you know fairly soon that people are going to be living in it.
Friday 7th February
Back on the cladding. Today we were applying the cement boards onto the baton. We started at the bottom fixing each board individually and working our way up the building. Each board will be measured and cut accordingly before fixed.
I’ve just moved into a new house with my mum and I’ve been doing quite a lot of little jobs in our house too. I just ripped out a cupboard in one room and I’ve just been boxing in all the pipes and everything afterwards. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I didn’t have the skills I’ve gained on site. I’d love to build up my own house from scratch one day, I can’t imagine anything more satisfying.
