Management trainee Amanda Hooey from London has won Best Apprentice / New Starter of the Year in the national Women in Construction Awards 2011.

The 24-year-old took the top spot in the under-25 category at the awards which celebrate the achievements of women in a traditionally male-dominated sector.

Amanda has worked with Lovell since 2004, completing a bricklaying apprenticeship with the company, gaining NVQ Level 2 and 3 qualifications. She was then promoted to Lovell’s management trainee scheme which has seen her working on major construction projects in London and the south East, including a large-scale housing development which Lovell built at the Yallops Yard site in Bow. She is currently part of the Lovell team working on a housing refurbishment programme in Islington. Having completed her BTEC National Award and BTEC Certificate, she is now studying for an HNC qualification in construction.

“Rising stars like Amanda are the reason we invest so much in our apprenticeship and management trainee programmes, and I’d like to congratulate her on this award,” says Lovell regional director Steve Coombs. “She has real talent and we are delighted to have helped her develop her career as part of our team. Amanda has impressed everyone she has worked with throughout her apprenticeship and in her role as a management trainee.”

“Some people still think of construction as a man’s job but that’s not true nowadays,” says Amanda. “I would definitely recommend it as a career to any woman interested in becoming a construction professional. I’ve had a lot of support and encouragement from the people that I’ve worked with during my training, from Lovell, the company’s subcontractors and at college.” Amanda was presented with her trophy at a special awards dinner in Manchester.

Lovell wins City of London Dragon Award

Founded in 1987, the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards scheme celebrates Corporate Community Involvement across Greater London.

Applicants to the Dragon Awards nominate their community project in a number of categories. All applicants are invited to an annual awards ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House, which presents a chance to share experiences and find out more about the ways in which London-based businesses are actively building stronger communities. Winners of the Dragon Awards receive a highly coveted Dragon statuette and are recognised by their peers and competitors as offering exemplary programmes of Corporate Community Involvement.

The Dragon Awards are designed not only to improve the outlook for communities but also to foster team work and mutual respect between the businesses and their communities. The awards also demonstrate the benefits that businesses can gain from such involvement – notably in terms of development of new skills, heightened creativity, new routes to market, and increased employee motivation and retention.The award is provided to us in recognition of the work we do within the Education sector at Local Schools to promote Lovell & the Construction Industry as a possible Career path for School Students, as well as helping students to gain a true understanding of the ‘World of Work’.

The Education Award provides recognition for companies working with educational establishments to raise aspirations, improve educational attainment, maximise career-development opportunities and/or improve access to work-related training. Examples could include:

Mentoring
Learning partnerships
CV workshops
Work experience

Judges looked for programmes that teach ‘skills for life' that will significantly improve an individual's future prospects.

The awards are named after the Dragons of the City’s Coat of arms – ‘Mythical Guardians at the gates of the Square Mile’ and are provided for Corporate Community Involvement by London based Businesses. We were competing to win this most contested award against 15 other Companies including BBC, BA, Carillion, Enterprise Mouchel, Ernst & Young, FSA, J P Morgan & Pinsent Masons.

East Manchester apprentice scheme takes two HCA Academy Awards

The Renaissance Consortium is celebrating winning two national Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) Academy Awards for its apprentice scheme in Miles Platting, east Manchester.

The training scheme, set up to give local people the opportunity to learn new skills and gain qualifications, was joint winner of the Skills for Better Places category of the national awards organised by the HCA, the government’s national housing and regeneration organisation and judged by a panel of industry experts.

In addition, the Miles Platting apprentice programme beat all the other award winners – including housing associations, regeneration organisations and developers – to take the overall Co-operative Award for Excellence at the awards ceremony held at the Roundhouse, north London.

Since its launch in August 2007, the Renaissance apprenticeship scheme has provided employment for 18 locally recruited trainees working on the Miles Platting housing regeneration scheme. The regeneration programme is being carried out by the Renaissance Consortium – which is made up of housing regeneration specialist Lovell, Adactus Housing Association and Investors in the Community – on behalf of Manchester City Council and New East Manchester.

The HCA judging panel described the Miles Platting apprentice training programme as “as excellent project demonstrating an innovative approach to staff recruitment and training through the use of apprenticeships”. Gill Taylor, chair of the judges, commented: “The particular success of this project was down to the intensive one-to-one support it offers the young apprentices; a model which offers considerable lessons for other projects.” The Co-operative Group, which chose the Miles Platting scheme for its excellence award, said Renaissance had “succeeded in going above and beyond its contractual obligations, resulting in a scheme that was having a demonstrable impact on the local community.” Sarah Klueter, senior community manager at the Co-operative Group, described the apprentice programme as “transforming the lives of young people in the area”. She stated: “The apprenticeship programme has an aspirational aspect, especially in a community where there is so much worklessness. Seeing young people doing well and growing in confidence is a really positive thing.”

“To win these two national awards is a tremendous achievement which recognises the success of the apprentice training programme and the life-changing benefits it has brought about for so many of the young people involved,” says Lovell people development manager Bruce Boughton. “This is a huge tribute to the hard work of everyone involved, most importantly, the apprentices themselves as well as the people who support them and manage their training. It is also an important reminder that this kind of high-quality training programme has a positive effect on the whole community.”

Councillor Paul Andrews, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, which includes housing, adds: “The apprenticeship project provides an opportunity for local people to learn the skills needed to work in the world of building and regeneration. Their hands-on training on local projects means that they contribute to improving their own local environment and the living conditions of local people at the same time as learning skills that will enable them to earn a good living in the long term.”

Natalie Tordoff, group head of regeneration and worklessness at Adactus, says: “We are delighted that the apprenticeship scheme has been recognised by this prestigious national award. This award win highlights the significance of this scheme that not only helps equip the young trainees with the necessary skills for future careers in construction or housing but also allows them to make a positive difference in their own community.”

Trainees at Miles Platting work towards qualifications in construction trades such as plastering, joinery and multi-skilled trades with others studying for office-based qualifications in a neighbourhood management training role. Each training position combines on-the-job training with college-based learning at Manchester College of Arts and Technology and Salford University or at the Lovell Craft Academy, the company’s national apprentice training centre in Leicestershire.

An essential element in the success of the training programme has been the strong support network which Renaissance has created for the trainees.