City College Plymouth’s bricklaying courses can do much more than help people build walls – they can help build futures too.
That certainly proved the case for two Plymouth men Darren Davies and Jason Thompson, who began their careers with trowels in hand and dreams of running their own business. The pair learned their trade as bricklaying apprentices at the College in the late 1980s. Now, almost 40 years later, they run the thriving J & D Bricklaying Contractors Ltd – and they are giving back by taking apprentices from the College, where their journey began all those years ago.
After completing their Apprenticeships, Darren and Jason continued to learn their trade working for larger firms before deciding to strike out on their own. Looking back on how the business has grown since those early beginnings, Darren is quick to praise the role that apprentices have played in its success. “As business partners, myself and Jason have always believed in putting something back, and that we have a moral obligation to play our part in bringing on new talent,” he says. That has meant a steady stream of apprentices being taken on most years since they began, with the first of those being taken on in the late 1990s.
“As the business grew in the early years, we knew we needed to take on more people and City College had a fantastic reputation for Apprenticeships.” Amongst the apprentices taken on – each of whom spends a day a week at the College and the rest of their time learning on-the-job – are Jason’s son Billy, who achieved a distinction. “We are always looking for a high standard of candidate, and when we get them we feel we are helping people get more than a qualification, but to genuinely build a career,” Darren adds. “The more apprentices that are trained, the better for us as a business and other businesses like us.
“Although it’s day-release Apprenticeships, if any individual needs a bit of additional support with extra days at College or needs help developing certain skills, then the College builds in the flexibility that allows us to do that. Our relationship with the team at City College has always been very good, and there’s always someone there to turn to if we ever need advice on any aspect of what we are doing.” The screening process for Apprenticeship candidates also ensures that anyone put forward to J & D Bricklaying is of the best possible standard. And any paperwork involved during the process is kept to a minimum for the company as the majority of it is picked up by the College.
The bricklaying courses at the College offer hands-on construction training in a realistic setting, combining theoretical knowledge with practical skills in fully equipped workshops to prepare students for the industry.
The 12-strong team at J & D Bricklaying – which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary – takes on mainly commercial building work. Having established an excellent reputation and with a commitment to training the next generation, Darren and Jason really are helping to build a legacy.
