14 February 2025
National Apprenticeship Week gives everyone in business and education the opportunity to celebrate the value, benefit, and opportunity that apprenticeships bring. It’s a week-long celebration that brings together businesses, further education colleges and apprentices across the country to highlight the positive impact that apprenticeships have on businesses and the economy. Which is why Whitehead have chosen to honour its apprentices where members of our management and supervisory team were asked to make nominations for our Whitehead Apprentice of the Year Awards 2025.
Reports have shown that continued investment in apprenticeships and apprentices support both business growth and individual career and workforce growth too.
Whitehead have consistently invested in apprentices, with cohorts employed every year for the past 35 years and 2024 being the biggest recruitment year to date with 47 directly employed trade and management apprentices in various stages of their 4 years of training.
“Apprenticeships offer Whitehead a valuable way to ensure we attract and retain the best talent within our business – so many of our apprentices remain in our employment after completion of their 4 years of paid training, which is both on the job and at college, providing them with fantastic knowledge, skills and understanding not only of the sector but of Whitehead specifically too -which is so important to us” commented Mike Parry, director of operations at Whitehead, who himself started out as an apprentice.
Apprenticeships offer a great career path as an alternative to the University Degree route – most of the apprentice applications at Whitehead do come from school and college leavers who have obtained a level 2 qualification in a subject linked to the Building Services industry, but apprenticeships are open to all and Whitehead has benefitted from more mature applicants looking for a career change, or A level and Level 3 qualified applicants looking to enter the industry at design and project management level.
“I am very proud to say that many of Whitehead’s apprentices have been recently involved in the delivery of some of our most high profile projects, which include work at many of the NHS Wales Hospital sites, Welsh local authority education facilities which include new build Schools and Colleges and in transport and infrastructure facilities at Cardiff Airport, Hitachi Rail and DVLA Swansea and the new Pentre Awel development in Carmarthenshire where over 10 Whitehead Apprentices are working. In addition to the traditional trade apprenticeships we also offer maintenance engineering, project management, design and commercial management routes, so there really is something for everyone in terms of what we can offer as a career path.” Added Mike Parry.
We have seen a great response for nominations for our Whitehead Apprentice of the Year Awards 2025, which recognise the talent and achievements of all of our Apprentices to coincide with the National Apprenticeship Week. Whitehead Apprentices and Trainees from all of the Year 1 to Year 4 levels received recognition, and nominations, along with statements on their commitment to the investment made in them, their hard work, innovation and approach to safety.
The 3 Apprentices who received the most outstanding comments and nominations this year who were presented today with their awards and a small gift at Whitehead head office in Newport are:
Jack Richards – Electrical Trade Apprentice Year 3
Erin Minnett – Project Management Trainee Year 1
Jack Royal – Mechanical Trade Apprentice Year 3
Find out more about early careers at Whitehead: www.whiteheadbuildingservices.co.uk/careers
