Construction trainee has the wow-factor

Marcus Wintle may not have the X-Factor, but he certainly has the wow-factor. The 18 year-old apprentice bricklayer from Treharris so impressed the judges at a student competition, two of them offered him a job.

Marcus, who is a student at Merthyr Tydfil College, was one of many NVQ level 1 students taking part in a bricklaying competition organised by ConstructionSkills at Ystrad Mynach College. But when the judges, Dave Thomas from the Leadbitter Group and Richard Hammond from SJB Bricklaying Contractors Ltd, saw Marcus in action, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

“When they saw Marcus in the competition he was by far the fastest, neatest and best of all the students. Dave and Richard really thought he was fantastic,” said Nicole Barnes, who is the Community Coordinator at Leadbitter’s “Housing with Care” project, which it is undertaking on behalf of United Welsh Housing Association at Castlegate in Penrhos, Caerphilly.

After the competition, Richard’s boss, Steve James, owner of SJB Bricklaying, in conjunction with Leadbitter, contacted Marcus and asked if he would like to join his team as an apprentice, working on Leadbitter’s contract at Castlegate, which is due for completion in Summer 2010.

The employment of Marcus, as well as other apprentices and trainees, is part of Leadbitter’s commitment to recruit and train from the local community. One of the reasons United Welsh Housing Association selected Leadbitter to construct 49 new homes for older people at Castlegate was because of its extensive track record of working with and involving local communities. The Association was keen to see local labour opportunities created at the project and, as a result, was the first in Wales to incorporate a Targeted Recruitment and Training Statement when awarding the contract, meaning that local people are really benefiting from the project.

Leadbitter is delighted to have talented local people on its team and welcomed the challenge of the Statement. Jeanette Hawrot, Group Community Engagement Manager, is in charge of turning its requirements into a reality.

“Many of the requirements were things which Leadbitter routinely incorporates into projects such as this,” she said. “It was great to see a Client so aligned with the way we at Leadbitter think about local communities. Together we have been able to achieve even more.”

Now, not only is Marcus working towards his NVQ 2 at Merthyr Tydfil College, he is also getting hands on experience at the Castlegate project and becoming an ambassador for Leadbitter, SJB and the construction industry by visiting children at playgroups around the area and showing them just what his job entails.

Nicole, who is a Construction Ambassador for industry body, ConstructionSkills, continued: “Marcus is well on his way to becoming fully qualified and he is brilliant when he joins me on our visits to nurseries and playgroups. For example, when we visited the children at Cylch Meithrin Yr Enfys in Ystrad Mynach, he built a wall for the children and let them each hold a brick. The children are only 2-3 years old, but he has a real winning way with them.”

Marcus, who also won Student of the Year at his college, is delighted with the result of the competition. “I was so grateful when I was offered this job,” he said. “I am really enjoying it. I love doing the visits too. We go out and give a basic demonstration of bricklaying and just give them a general idea of what we do.”

His boss, Steve James, said: “Marcus is exceptional–a good find. Lads with his attitude, skills and commitment to hard work are few and far between. We are delighted to have him.”

So far Marcus is one of six local apprentices and trainees who have been taken on by Leadbitter to work on the project, which, when completed, will provide care and support to its residents from a site-based team, allowing them to enjoy an independent lifestyle as far as they possibly can.