East Mids brickies set to build wall around Big Ben
A Derby construction boss has been invited to Westminster to showcase his apprentices to the Housing Minister and the UK’s leading housebuilders on the future of Britain’s construction industry.
The Building Britain’s Future event will showcase bricklaying skills by apprentices building a wall in front of Big Ben on Speakers Green on 3 May.
This will be the first time an event of this type will have taken place in Parliament.
The culmination of the event will be a reception in Westminster that will be addressed by both Amanda Solloway MP and Ian Hodgkinson but will also include speeches from Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis MP and Minister for Apprenticeships, Nick Boles MP.
Hodgkinson, who founded his bricklaying business in 1990, set up his own brickwork academy last year and is set to expand with a National Construction Academy (NCA) – a stand-alone academy that will be rolled out across Britain.
He said: “It’s the perception of a bricklayer’s career that needs changing; construction has great prospects, safe working conditions and great earning potential.
“I have made a big bold promise to youngsters who join my academy that they could be earning £1,000 a week within five years if they work at it. We just need to show youngsters that there is an alternative to university and building is excellent career to have with so many possibilities.
He added: “I am absolutely delighted to have been invited to Westminster and would like to thank Amanda Solloway MP for having the vision to help get my message out that bricklaying is the career of choice and with the my New National Construction Academy and opportunities such as this we are absolutely confident that we can show young people how rewarding a career in bricklaying can be.”
Amanda Solloway MP for Derby North said: “This is such a fantastic opportunity to promote bricklaying as a genuine and credible choice for young people to undertake as a career. There certainly needs to be more effort in encouraging the uptake of bricklaying from apprenticeship level and that begins with altering and improving the perception of the industry.
“Bricklaying can be an incredibly rewarding career both from a job satisfaction and financial perspective and can lead to all manner of possibilities for career progression. We have to show that vocational careers have equal weighting to those that are more academic. Ian certainly has the enthusiasm and experience to champion this campaign and I will certainly do all I can to help.”
