New apprentices and management trainees for Lovell in the Midlands

November 24, 2017 / Keith Osborne
New apprentices and management trainees for Lovell in the Midlands

Lovell, multiple winners at the prestigious WhatHouse? Awards, has strengthened its team in the Midlands area with the recruitment of six new recruits beginning their career in housebuilding.

Two site management trainees, two management trainees, an apprentice bricklayer and an apprentice carpenter have been taken on to expand the team. In addition, Lovell will continue to support three existing apprentices who are moving on to study for advanced NVQ Level 3 qualifications.

Josh Ball, from Tamworth and Michael Quinlan, from Shirley, are two of the new recruits on the management trainee programme. Each one is being sponsored by the housebuilder to work towards a Foundation Degree at the University of Wolverhampton, where on-site work will combine with day-release study. They will choose a speciality after two years of experience across a number of departments over the first two years.

23-year-old Josh, previously a self-employed electrician, says of his new position: “I applied to Lovell because I knew they welcomed applications from people who were not necessarily graduates but had my kind of industry experience. As a management trainee, I’ll have the chance to get a thorough grounding in construction management, from the initial concept for a scheme to the aftercare process following the completion of a development. I know that a lot of Lovell management trainees go on to senior management roles with the company and that’s very exciting. I’ve got high hopes for my future, especially with the amount of support that Lovell provides.”

Michael, 28, is also moving from self-employment to the support a housebuilder such as Lovell can offer: “I’d worked as a self-employed carpenter for about seven years and was looking for an opportunity to step up to the next level. This is the perfect way to do it. I knew I wanted to go into management but wasn’t sure which area to pursue. Through Lovell’s management trainee programme, I’ll have the opportunity to try different business roles will help me decide which to specialise in.”

Lovell Midlands regional training advisor Kelly Truman says it’s vital to take on the right people at the trainee and apprentice level to ensure the housebuilder’s success and expansion continues: “Developing a pool of skilled construction professionals has always been central to our strategy. It’s an investment in our future, allowing us to build the workforce we need and an important contribution to the prosperity of local communities, opening up valuable career opportunities for talented and motivated individuals to acquire potentially life-changing skills and qualifications.”

With industry training body CITB predicting that the growing number of new homes to be built in the region, together with other construction projects, will create 14,000 new jobs in the West Midlands over the next five years, Truman adds: “We’re also helping the industry as a whole at a time when there are increasing concerns about the shortage of skilled labour, with an ageing workforce and the potential effects of Brexit currently making investment in training and encouraging more young people into the business even more of a priority.”

Did you like this? Share it: