National Apprenticeship Week 2023

Concertus, alongside the wider Vertas Group, are committed to continuously investing in the development of our people. At present, we have eleven apprentices on courses ranging from Business Administration to Civil Engineering, across both our Ipswich and Matlock offices.

When sitting down with some of our apprentices and talking through how their studies are going and what their day-to-day work and study balance looks like, it’s clear that going to college or university the traditional way, doesn’t suit all students.

Laura Spink is one of the apprentices employed by Concertus, studying towards Level 3 Business Administration qualification. When asked how she is getting on with her studies and how she finds studying alongside a full-time job, Laura said: “My studies are going really well. I have enjoyed working alongside studying because I can apply learning from both areas to each other during my working day. I am really supported by my line manager and colleagues”. Laura is due to present her End Point Assessment next month.

Another apprentice who is working towards a Level 6 degree but in Building Services Design is Henry Bell. Henry is currently a Trainee Mechanical Engineer at Concertus and attends London South Bank University once a week. Henry has experience working for a local contractor but says he was always interested in the design and consultancy side of the industry. When asked about what he enjoys most about his role, Henry said: “I enjoy visiting different sites and physically seeing the project progress through the different stages. This gives me a great sense of achievement. I have strong support from various mentors within the Building Services team, who heavily support my learning and development”. We look forward to catching up with both Harvey and Henry next year to see how their projects and studies have continued to progress.

Also starting their studies in the coming weeks are Helen Challinor and Levi Maslauskas, who are based in our Matlock office. As Trainee Building Services Engineers, both Helen and Levi are studying towards Building Services Engineering Senior Technician, Level 4 and will be studying at Leeds College of Building.

When asked what a typical day looks like, Levi said: “Each day is seldom a carbon copy of the last, something I enjoy about working at Concertus. Having said that, if I am not out on-site conducting surveys, I can often be found creating draft drawings for both existing and proposed layouts on AutoCAD, performing lighting, ventilation, and heat loss calculations, or making myself useful by writing tender documents, asbestos requests, and editing specifications”. As he begins his studies, Levi hopes that as his knowledge develops and he becomes more confident, he will be able to take on further more complex work.

Our apprenticeships and training programmes provide the valuable opportunity to earn a salary and start a career as part of a successful business with real-world experience, whilst also gaining the qualifications needed to excel in the industry.

One of our external training providers recently commented “As is always the case with Concertus staff, the attitude, desire and commitment to better themselves is first class”. We look forward to sharing our apprenticeship stories with you next year!