DCG Success Stories

His grandad was a carpenter, his dad is a painter and decorator and, as a lad Tom, now 23, liked nothing better than ‘messing about building things such as bike ramps.’

Currently in the second year of a Construction Site Supervisor & HNC in Construction, Tom has achieved his ambition, and now works with main contractor Winvic in Northampton as a trainee construction manager.

Although he always wanted to work in the building or engineering sector, Tom, from Northamptonshire, didn’t want to go to university ‘for the sake of it’ so he dropped out of A-levels and took a full-time electrical installation course at his local college.

He then completed an electrical apprenticeship before securing his current role with Winvic after previously having worked for the company part-time.

He said: “I knew I wanted to get qualified, so with my employer, I looked at what was on offer and we found the higher apprenticeship with Derby College.

“It’s a really good college. I’ve met so many intelligent people there from different sides of the industry – students as well as lecturers. It’s interesting to hear about their roles and get their take on things.

“I do most of my learning on-site but also go into college on day release once a week. There’s a good social side. We’re based at the Hudson building but mix with other students for breakfast, which is always fun.

At work Tom spends a lot of time on-site and likes the exposure his job is giving him to so many facets of professional construction.

He added: “It’s great to follow a project right through from beginning to end. I’m currently working on a big residential scheme in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, featuring 12 large townhouses and 172 apartments.”

And Tom has his sights firmly set on qualifying as an assistant site manager then progressing to site manager or project manager.

He said: “I never thought I’d say this, but university is now on the cards as I’d like to further my construction industry qualifications.”