Sunday, July 17, 2011

Barrett homes apprentice of the year.


Apprentice bricklayer Reece Hall is laying the foundations for a successful career after scooping two awards.
Reece, aged 17, from Wallsend, has been named Apprentice of the Year by leading housebuilder Barratt North East.
The accolade came after he beat hundreds of entrants to be crowned the North East Young Apprentice of the Year in the National Apprenticeship Service awards.
Reece, who joined Barratt last September, was presented with the Barratt award by Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell, who is campaigning to increase the number of apprenticeships through a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament.
She was visiting The Leazes development in Throckley where Barratt is building new homes in partnership with Your Homes Newcastle (YHN).
She said: “It’s a fantastic achievement by Reece. He goes to Newcastle College which is one of the great apprenticeship providers in the city.
“The great thing about apprenticeships is that you get skills for life. When you’ve completed an apprenticeship you have all that experience and can walk into a job.”
Reece was assessed on all aspects of his work including attitude, commitment and college results to win the Barratt award. He works on site at the Elba Park development in Houghton-le-Spring and attends Newcastle College one day a week.
He said: “I love the job, it’s great experience and I enjoy the crack on site. My apprenticeship has given me a fantastic career opportunity. I’ve gained new skills and am learning more all the time and feel like a really valued member of the team at Barratt.”
Mike Roberts, Managing Director of Barratt North East said: “Reece has done exceptionally well to win these two awards.
“I am sure he will make good progress and hopefully we’ll see him in years to come collecting the Site Manager of the Year Award!”
He added: “Apprentice training has proved to be a sound investment. In the long run it is clearly more beneficial to have a well-trained and well-motivated staff.
“There are excellent career prospects for those completing their training successfully and many of our senior managers began their careers as apprentices.”
Barratt North East currently employs 17 apprentices. Nationally the Barratt Group has the largest apprenticeship programme in the industry and despite the downturn in the market has 145 apprentices across the UK.

Catherine McKinnell was also visiting The Leazes to view the 81 homes being built by Barratt and YHN, which is responsible for managing council homes on behalf of Newcastle City Council.
The MP, whose grandfather Michael Grady’s construction firm built hundreds of homes in Newcastle, said: “We need more good quality, affordable housing for rent and sale and I’m very impressed by what I’ve seen here. The development is sympathetic to its surroundings and I’m also impressed with the energy efficient measures included in the homes.”

Friday, July 8, 2011

Civic Reception for Reece Hall


A Civic reception was held on the 7th July at North Tyneside Council to honour Reec Hall for his achievement as apprentice of the year in the North East.
Pictured Brian Myers Apprentice officer CITB, John Stirling Chairman of North Tyneside Council and Reece Hall.
In attendence were the family of Reece Hall.


Apprentice of the year North East 2011


An apprentice from Wallsend is celebrating after being named as one of the UK’s top apprentices.
Reece Hall, aged 17, beat hundreds of entrants to be crowned the North East Young Apprentice of the Year. Reece is an apprentice bricklayer for house builder Barratt North East and is currently working at Elba Park in Houghton-le-Spring. He began his Apprenticeship in September last year, with Newcastle College and CITB-ConstructionSkills delivering his training.
Despite struggling at school, Reece has turned his life around and become a skilled and highly valued member of the team at Barratt. He impressed the regional award judges with his enthusiasm and desire to succeed – always willing to take on new challenges and constantly contributing new solutions to improve efficiency.
Reece is delighted by his Awards success and said: “My Apprenticeship has given me a fantastic career opportunity and has also been extremely beneficial to my personal development. I have gained so many new skills and am learning more all the time. I feel like a really valued member of the team at Barratt and am thriving working alongside more experienced members of the team, who are more than happy to pass on their knowledge, but who are also willing to listen to my ideas.
“As well as developing skills in my area of specialism, I have also gained experience and knowledge of all aspects of the building trade, which will stand me in good stead for the future and hopefully help me to achieve my ambition of becoming a site manager one day.”
Organised by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), the awards are designed to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and the businesses that employ them.
John Wayman, director for the NAS in the North East, said: “The Awards are a great opportunity to give our best employers and brightest young apprentices the credit they deserve. Reece excelled in his Apprenticeship and is an excellent role model to others. He has a very bright future ahead of him and I would like to congratulate him on his success and wish him every success in the national final.”
The National Apprenticeship Awards 2011 received a record number of applications with over 1,600 entries – an increase of over 25% on last year’s awards. The regional winners will be invited to an Oscar-style Awards ceremony in London, on the 29 June 2011, when those selected as the national winners will be announced.
Pictured: Brian Myers, ConstructionSkills; Reece Hall; Paul Taylor, Newcastle College