Bellway recognises its brightest young talent at its Apprentice of the Year awards

Bellway has celebrated the achievements of some of its brightest young talent in the company’s annual Apprentice of the Year Awards.

Four apprentices were honoured in this year’s awards, with a winner, a runner-up and two highly commended.

Bricklayer Sophie Curtis, 19, from Jarrow, was named the company’s Apprentice of the Year. She works for Bellway’s Durham division at the Church View development in Callerton, near Newcastle, which is being built under the Ashberry Homes brand.

It’s such an honour to be recognised by Bellway in this way. I work hard every day to prove myself, gain new skills and be the best colleague I can be.

Sophie said: “It’s such an honour to be recognised by Bellway in this way. I work hard every day to prove myself, gain new skills and be the best colleague I can be.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to college and that doing college and working on the side wouldn’t work for me. I spoke to my parents about trying for an apprenticeship with Bellway. They said Bellway is a massive company and it would be great to go there as there would be more opportunity. I applied, had an interview and started on an apprenticeship.

“It really is better than college in my opinion. You can be earning right away. When you are on the job you are learning from real life experience which you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

Sophie encouraged any woman thinking about applying for an apprenticeship in the construction business to do it.

“I’d say don’t be scared and just go for it because it’s the best thing you’ll ever do,” she said. “People might ask you all the time about how you got into it, but when I tell people all about what I do, they say ‘wow well done!’”.

The runner-up prize went to 29-year-old Trainee Assistant Site Manager Charlie Devlin. She works for Bellway’s Scotland East division which is based in Livingston.

Previously working as an instructor in the outdoor industry, Charlie decided to switch careers and embarked upon her apprenticeship with Bellway in 2022.

Charlie said: “Everyone on site has been incredibly supportive and I am so grateful for all the time people have invested in helping me throughout this journey.

“I’ve learnt so many transferrable skills and there are so many opportunities to explore here at Bellway. It’s the best career move I’ve ever made.

“As with everything, there have been ups and downs – particularly as this is a completely new industry to the one I was working in before. But I’m very driven and determined to learn as much as I can, and Bellway have done everything to support this.”

Two other apprentices were highly commended: Ollie Wynne-Williams, 20, a Technical Apprentice based at Bellway’s Northern Home Counties divisional head office in Milton Keynes; and Jessi-Lou Baker, 21, a Finance Apprentice with the Bellway Essex division based in Chelmsford.

Commenting on how the team at Bellway Northern Home Counties have been particularly supportive, OIlie said: “Our Technical Manager, Darren McKane, has been brilliant. He is very busy, but always makes time to check in and see how I’m doing. It helped me settle in quickly and I felt like a valued member of the team from the off.

“Darren and I have been visiting sites together, which has helped broaden my knowledge. I’ve definitely asked my fair share of questions in the time I’ve been here, but no-one has made me feel silly for asking them, which has really helped my confidence.”

Jessi-Lou joined Bellway in 2021 after figuring out she would be better off becoming an apprentice rather than running up a debt at university.

Despite being advised by a careers officer that her future prospects would be improved by having a degree, she joined Bellway’s apprenticeship programme in 2021.

Jessi-Lou said: “It’s lovely to win this prestigious award which is open to all apprentices in the company and it is nice to know that my efforts on a daily basis are appreciated by senior management.

“I think winning this award and my progress so far has vindicated my decision to ignore what the careers officer told me and to follow my own convictions by becoming an apprentice.

“I have always been good with numbers and knew while I was still at school that I wanted to become a chartered accountant. Some of my friends went to university but I wanted to start earning money as soon as I could. I didn’t want to stay in the classroom for another three years and then end up in the situation of not having a guaranteed job and being saddled with a debt.”

For more information about Bellway’s apprenticeship programme, visit: https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/our-programmes/apprenticeship-programme.