Our Town Hall apprentices - Dylan's journey
We hear from Dylan Pritchard, whose journey from apprentice to full time employee on the Our Town Hall project shows how well a Higher Level Apprenticeship can influence your future career route, by giving you the chance to try things you didn't know you were interested in.
Dylan during his apprenticeship, working on the safe removal and relocation of the Town Hall's many sculptures.
Dylan says:
In secondary education I had a passion for design and aspects of architecture. Construction gave me a career path to focus on: at this point I'd chosen Architecture. Sadly, after years of study and exams I didn’t achieve the grades required to continue. This seriously knocked my confidence and made me re-evaluate my options: I was convinced that my abilities did not match the skills required.
I then went on to further education and came away with good results and an interest in the Public sector, and discovered apprenticeships. Through an apprenticeship in healthcare I went on to full time employment and spent three years seeking further challenges and moved into financial advising. What became clear was that I needed to go back into education.
The M-Futures scheme (now known as PlanBEE) was brought to my attention and I knew that this would not only give me the challenge I was chasing, but also give me a career in the industry I'd had a passion for when I was younger. After a successful interview process, I was given the privilege of joining the design team on the Manchester Our Town Hall (OTH) project, on a Higher level apprenticeship in 'The Built Environment', undertaking a Level 4 HNC and an NVQ.
The M-Futures scheme was set up to provide Manchester City Council with a vehicle to offer Manchester residents apprenticeship opportunities. Social Value is at the very heart of the OTH project, and the scheme was designed with several rotational placements to give experience in various aspects of the design process and provide an insight of working in the construction industry. Over the next two years I worked with the Mechanical & Electrical Engineers, Structural Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, Architects and Landscape Architects, gaining experience and an insight into each role. My journey through the programme was something I’ve never experienced before - I learned so much, all of which will follow me the rest of my career. I enjoyed every discipline I worked with; I approached each placement with a “you get out what you put in” attitude, and believe this approach allowed me to get the most out of each rotation rather than focusing on one or two, and not fully realising the unique opportunity put in front of me.
This journey through the M-Future scheme gave me the opportunity to work with the Quantity Surveying team at Faithful & Gould. Working alongside the team on rotation helped me to understand the job of a Quantity Surveyor, and also Faithful & Gould as a company. After my rotation with them, I knew that I wanted to gain employment with them; their vision and values resonated with me and were something I could wholeheartedly get behind.
While working for Faithful & Gould I have been given the opportunity to study my BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and undertake my Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Over the last 3 years working with Faithful & Gould I have been given amazing opportunities to increase my knowledge and understanding of my role in the industry and given opportunities and responsibilities that have allowed me to improve and gain confidence in my abilities. Now looking back at my journey, I can see what an impact both the M-Future scheme and Faithful & Gould have had in getting me from difficult beginnings to where I am today.