National Apprenticeship Week 2023

Honor Wilson Head of Marketing & Communications

GMI Construction Group will be shining a light on the positive impact that apprentices have on the business as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2023, which gets underway on Monday 6 February.

The week brings together businesses and apprentices from across the country as they reflect on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge for a rewarding career.

This year’s theme for National Apprenticeship Week is ‘skills for life,’ reflecting on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career, and a business to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills.

Assistant Quantity Surveyor Travis Tyler-Noon is in his final year at Nottingham Trent University

Here at GMI, we will be speaking to a number of our colleagues, who have benefitted from the scheme and continue to progress through the ranks as we showcase our investment in people. In addition, we will be speaking to leaders within the business who have helped develop our apprentices.

“National Apprenticeship Week is a great way to celebrate young talent as we strive to grow that talent within the business,” said GMI CEO Lee Powell, who himself has risen through the ranks within the construction industry.

“It is about nurturing and training our apprentices in the right way, so that they can make an impact on the business going forward.

“We’ve signed up to the five per cent club, which means we’re committed to five per cent of our workforce undertaking a genuine apprenticeship scheme with us.

“We’re really proud to say that we’re approaching 12 per cent and our apprenticeship scheme is incredibly important going forward.”

Speaking about his own experience of being an apprentice and working his way up, Lee added: “I started out at Leeds College of Building as a student and then went into Quantity Surveying and managed to get into Birmingham University.

“From there I went through all the levels to eventually become CEO, so you could say I’m testament to someone who has decided to embark on a career in construction – with hard work and dedication you can get to where you want to be.”

Manchester College student Keenan Comer is doing his T Level placement with GMI

Whether it is those individuals who have cemented their position within the business, or apprentices who have recently joined GMI, we will be getting their first-hand experiences of how the programme has changed their lives. We will also mark Thursday 9 February as ‘T Level Thursday’ and look at how students can choose to do the T Level placement with GMI.

The annual Leeds Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair takes place at the First Direct Arena on Monday too, with GMI having a strong presence as an exhibitor at the event. Kicking-off National Apprenticeship Week 2023 with a bang, visitor bookings are already close to reaching 7,500 tickets sold.

Head of Responsible Business Claire Preston, Construction Director (Yorkshire) Martin Watson and Learning & Development Business Partner Daniel Rigby will all be in attendance at the event, which will see GMI offer a unique opportunity for budding construction workers of the future to interact with them.