Construction firm celebrates apprentices past and present

SWG Group, which works on development projects across Shropshire and Mid Wales, regularly provides apprenticeship opportunities - and four of the current team are former apprentices.

Jacqui Gough, director of SWG, said training and development of staff was a big priority for the firm.

“Helping our staff to grow so they can flourish in their career is a source of great pride for us here at SWG Group,” she said.

“As National Apprenticeship Week celebrates apprentices being given ‘Skills for Life’ we wanted to celebrate our team members who are developing their skills - for the benefit of them and the company as a whole.

“We are proud of our apprenticeship programme and always have at least two apprentices working their way to a full-time position.

“Four of the current team - including a site manager and site supervisor - are former apprentices who have graduated in recent years.”

The construction industry has been facing a skills shortage for a number of years, and Jacqui said training schemes like apprenticeships were a good way of bridging that gap.

She said: “We have made a concerted effort to help youngsters into a construction career, not only through apprenticeships but also by setting up our own SWG Academy at Ysgol Llanfyllin.

“Once a month, we provide a specialist member of our team to go into the school and teach the pupils practical skills, including woodwork, plumbing and electrical, as they work towards the Construction and the Built Environment GCSE.

“We are now into our third year of the academy, and 59 students have taken part, with some of them coming to SWG for work experience or apprenticeship placements - giving them a direct route into the industry.

“Schools in other areas are now considering running similar programmes because it has been such a success.”