Wates Case Study

AJC were delighted to receive a case study which Wates Residential recently published about our Apprentice - Lewis!

Wates wrote of the Apprenticeship between Lewis and AJC Carpentry: 

Having always wanted to pursue a career working on a construction site, Lewis started applying for apprenticeships but wasn’t successful until starting a work experience placement with AJC at Daedalus. Having asked about an apprenticeship he was offered the opportunity to attend an interview and was delighted to be welcomed back to start work on site.

Lewis' day starts at 8am and finishes at 4.30pm. He is currently mentored by Pete and is learning several different tasks including assembling staircases, fixing them into the properties and covering them in stairwell protection. Lewis has also been fitting joists and flooring, fixing straps to the roof trusses, hanging doors and fitting handles, fitting bath panels and supporting with the erection of garage roofs.

What does Lewis like most about his job?

"I love working as part of the team, the people are fantastic and I enjoy coming to work. Everyone at the Daedalus site and Wates Residential have been so supportive. AJC have also invested so much time in me already. The team, particularly my mentor Pete, are committed to showing me the right way to do things in a patient way and I am very grateful to them for imparting their experience and knowledge. 

I also enjoy the physical side of my role and being pushed outside of my comfort zone. The health and safety across the whole of the Wates Residential site is outstanding and really shows that people care. It’s definitely the cleanest I have ever worked on. I am really enjoying the learning process."

Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?

"Hopefully I will still be with AJC, as a supervisor. I would like to train apprentices one day and pass on my knowledge to the next generation of carpenters. I now look forward to getting up and going to work every day and am so happy to have been given this opportunity. This has the best thing I have ever done and is 100% the right career for me. I would recommend others to consider an apprenticeship.

I really enjoy working on this Wates Residential site and the Stop / Go health and safety observations are a great way to highlight good and bad health and safety practices. It really shows me that Wates cares about my welfare. If I hadn’t been given this opportunity, I would probably be searching and applying for other apprenticeships. Now I am thinking about saving for my deposit to buy my own home one day.

AJC are a great employer and they have given me a real chance in life. I am so thankful for this opportunity and am now looking forward to my future."

Lewis is also a keen ten pin bowler outside of work and represented England in a masters tournament last year in Ireland where he came second.

Well done Lewis and keep up the great work!