Ambitious housebuilder Duchy Homes has recently launched a new training programme as part of its expansion plans over the next few years.
The Assistant Site Manager Training Programme offers an opportunity to receive a recognised qualification and first-hand experience at the company’s range of developments across the West Midlands and North of England.
Recruits embark on a three-year programme combining on-site experience with recognised qualifications. Skills such as planning and programming, health and safety, quality assurance and customer service are undertaken ‘hands-on’, with Duchy Homes sponsoring tuition to achieve the NVQ Level 4 in Construction and the NVQ Level 6 Diploma in Construction Site Management.
“We have invested in our own thorough training programme that encourages new talent to begin a career in construction and provides opportunities for our ambitious site teams to develop their skills with us,” explains group construction director Darren Howell. “We are extremely proud of the promising start our new trainee assistant site managers have made already. This programme will ensure we can maintain our high standards and guarantee the high quality of our craftsmanship for years to come.”
One of the trainees is Sam Bourne (pictured), who is working for the North West division and has previous experience in scaffolding and as a labourer. He says: “There is lots of knowledge sharing within the team, which means I’m always learning and I always get the right answers. I am very ambitious and I appreciate the career path this programme will give me – I want to reach the level of construction manager in time.”
Formerly a forklift driver in the groundworker sector, Yorkshire-based Paul Littlewood – who was on the cover of July’s Show House Jobs print supplement – enjoys the challenge of the Duchy Homes trainee programme. “The programme is great and I’ve already had a variety of experience working across sites in Wetherby, Ranskill, Hessle and now Swanland,” he says. “Duchy Homes is an absolutely fantastic company to learn with and work for, and the fact they won the award of Best Residential Developer of the Year 2018 [Yorkshire Residential Property Awards] says it all. I aspire to be an award-winning site manager for the company in the future.”
