Apprenticeship Week 2021

David Reid, Civil Engineering Apprentice

Could you tell me about your apprenticeship?

I am doing a Higher Level Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering through Ulster University. I work 4 days a week with Charles Brand and then go to Uni every Friday.

What have you been up to in your Apprenticeship over the past year?

I started my Apprenticeship in September working with the Estimating team at Rosemount House, our head office. I was assisting with pricing jobs such as elements of the HS2 Scheme and Aberdeen Harbour. I went on various site visits with the team to inspect jobs that they were tendering.

Since then I have worked on a Project in Portrush constructing a coastal path, viewing platforms and a car park.

How have you coped with your Apprenticeship in the Covid-19 Pandemic? What new skills have you learnt?

I was very pleased to get the Apprenticeship as the thought of sitting on Zoom meetings five days a week doing full-time Uni was very daunting. I have enjoyed working in the office with Estimating Team learning a lot of new Civil Engineering terms. I have equally enjoyed getting out on site, learning how to work the GPS, Laser Level and how sites are run in the Civil Engineering sector.

Why would you recommend an Apprenticeship to others?

I think the apprenticeship is a great route to take if you want to earn while you learn. It gives you great experience working in the real world that Uni would never prepare you for. You will be more experienced than a Uni graduate by the end of the first year!

Daragh Donaghy – Quantity Surveying Apprentice

Could you tell me about your apprenticeship?

I work as an Apprentice Quantity Surveyor for Charles Brand, I’m currently working on the ACORN project as well as studying the part-time Quantity Surveying course with Ulster University.

What have you been up to in your Apprenticeship over the past year?

Since my Apprenticeship began in September I have had a mix of both on-site and office experience, learning more and more about the industry and the overcoming the challenges that come with it.

How have you coped with your Apprenticeship in the Covid-19 Pandemic? What new skills have you learnt?

With starting my Apprenticeship during the Covid-19 pandemic it was always going to be a challenge to adapt to the work, especially with no previous experience in the industry and coming straight out of school. However, everyone I work with helped me get up to speed with the work and develop an array of new skills such as working in a controlled fully digital environment and adapting to the governments changing restrictions.

Why would you recommend an Apprenticeship to others?

I have really enjoyed working with Charles Brand so far, the concept of ‘earning while you learn’ eases the pressure of a full-time Uni course and enables you to make new friends while getting hands on experience.