Story posted: 10/02/2025
Q. Why did you choose the apprenticeship route over other options?
A. I left college knowing I wanted to get into construction. One of the paths recommended to me was doing an apprenticeship because it would be beneficial in the long run. I could have just found a job with a company, but there wouldn’t have been any formal teaching. With this apprenticeship, I attend college one day a week and work on-site for the rest of the week, earning a formal qualification alongside practical experience. If I was working without qualifications and had ten years of experience, it might not mean as much if I wanted to change jobs or progress to a higher role. Nowadays, you really need that paperwork.
Q. What have been the highlights of your apprenticeship journey so far?
A. Getting to go to college and learn something new is great, but I love being on-site four days a week. The things you learn in college are useful, but being on-site teaches you a hundred times faster. There’s only so much reading you can do, sometimes you just need to figure it out by doing it yourself and picking up the tools.
Q. How has your skillset and confidence grown, and what’s next for you?
A. My people skills have improved a lot from talking to staff and being at college. I’m much more confident in my abilities now. For example, I was tasked with hanging doors by myself. When I finished, I took some photos and thought, ‘Wow, they look great. I did that myself.’ The client was over the moon, and that gave me a real sense of pride. Having the apprenticeship behind me gives me the confidence to think about where I want to go next. I’m thinking about moving up to a supervisor role and eventually management, where I could oversee a team of carpenters.
Q. How have the opportunities provided by Sempra Homes helped you progress toward your career goals?
A. Sempra Homes has been great in keeping me employed and helping me progress. They always talk to me about how I can move up. When I finished my Level 2 apprenticeship, my manager encouraged me to move on to Level 3 and gave me the confidence to believe I could do it. When I first joined, the site manager told me, ‘I can see you being a site manager one day.’ That really stuck with me. There’s a lot of support and what’s great about Sempra Homes is seeing people who started in the same position as me move up the ladder. If I keep showing that I’m a hard worker and committed to achieving my goals, there’s a clear path for progression.
