Graduates Austin Dalby, 22, Max Smith, 23 and Sean Williams, 22, have finished their three-year sponsored Construction Management degree programme that has seen them work in a range of departments within Redrow’s North West division.
The course, launched by Redrow in 2017 in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Coleg Cambria, is the first of its kind to be developed and fully sponsored by a house builder such as ourselves. It is available for school leavers with a strong set of A-Level or BTEC Level 3 results and a desire to start a career in the industry, or for those with a construction background looking for further qualifications.Austin, from Hoylake, Wirral, comes from a family of construction professionals and knew it was a career he also wanted to pursue.
Austin said that he enjoyed the split between being out on site and then spending some time in the classroom: “It was great to apply knowledge I gained from being out on site, to things in the classroom and vice versa. I also benefited hugely from having mentors. They were there to answer any queries and put me in touch with the relevant people on site that I needed to speak to – this made me feel comfortable.”
Austin is now a trainee site assistant and hopes to one day become a site manager.
Max Smith, from Liverpool, said working full time alongside doing the degree was hard work but it was so rewarding when he graduated with a first-class honours degree.He said: “I think I underestimated how hard it was going to be, however, it definitely taught me to manage my time better and this is something I’ve brought into my new role as a trainee site assistant. I’m now looking after homes once they’ve been plastered right through to customer completion."
“During the degree we spent a lot of time learning about the customer care side and issues they may encounter after moving in so that has readied me for my current role as I’m looking at how we can ensure there are no problems down the line with the homes we produce.”Sean Williams from Abergele completed a bricklaying apprenticeship with us prior to starting the housebuilding degree and wanted to complete a degree to give himself a broader knowledge of the construction and customer journey.
Sean said: “The degree was a big step up from the apprenticeship and I thought I’d struggle with the academic side but I was guided a lot by previous graduates. Being able to rotate through different departments within Redrow was a great aspect of the degree. I’m now looking forward to progressing to become a site manager over the next few years.”
Jason Newton, managing director of Redrow NW, said: “Austin, Max and Sean are great assets to our business. Over the last three years, they have really got to grips with us as a business and I’m so pleased that all of them see a future within the business.”
You can find out more about our housebuilding degree.
