Member Article

Leading constructor takes on new apprentices

ONE of the region’s leading construction firms has taken on four new apprentices.

The apprenticeship programme at family-owned, Northallerton-based builder Walter Thompson has been going for more than 50 years and is well regarded within the industry.

The latest batch has just joined the company and the apprentices are working on sites throughout the north east.

Two of the apprentices, Joe Martin, 16 and Henry Stamp, 17, have joined the company as apprentice joiners. Ryan Wilshere, 22, and Jake Ashton, 16, have joined as apprentice bricklayers. Joe, Henry, and Jake are from Northallerton, and Ryan is from Askew, near Bedale.

All four are attending Darlington College one day a week and spending the rest of the working week on building sites.

Paul Hammerton, Managing Director of Walter Thompson, explained: “We have a great reputation for training young people and our well-established and respected apprenticeship programme has been going for more than 50 years.”

The company has a close relationship with Darlington College, with senior members of the Walter Thompson team regularly going into the college to speak to students, explaining the opportunities within the firm.

The company takes up to four apprentices every year, some straight from school and others from Darlington College, where Paul himself studied.

He explained: “It works well for us and the students. We train our apprentices the way we want, and they get to work for a well-run, well-respected, ambitious company. The majority of apprentices stay with us forever and there are also excellent opportunities within the company for those who want to progress into management.”

Phillip Gallagher, a site manager for Walter Thompson, currently working on a new nursery building in Sunderland, said he’d been impressed by the latest apprentice intake: “They’re all good lads, who are ready to listen and learn. We assign them a mentor, and they stay with them throughout their training, which I think really helps.

“The apprentices go through an interview process and then sit a Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) test to get on to the programme.”

Phillip, who has been with Walter Thompson for 13 years, said he thought the standard of applicants was getting better year by year

Ryan had applied three times before successfully gaining an apprenticeship, following the effort and quality he had shown on Darlington College’s full-time course: “I was really keen to work for the company as they have a great reputation within the building sector, and I’m certainly enjoying myself so far,” he explained.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Walter Thompson .