Meet: Myles

Name: Myles
Course Studied: Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Trowel Occupations

Meet Myles, a Level 2 apprentice currently working for family-run company, Mathias Restoration Ltd, specialists in historic brickwork, flintwork and lime mortars.

Myles joined Oaklands College this year, pursuing a Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Trowel Occupations; a full-time apprenticeship working in Bricklaying.

Students studying on the Level 2 programme gain a number of qualifications including a Technical Certificate, NVQ, Functional Skills in Maths and English and much more.

Throughout his apprenticeship, Myles will develop a range of bricklaying skills including topics such as setting out buildings, construction of a solid wall,cavity and attached Piers, health, Safety and welfare in construction and associated industries, masonry structures and cladding and much more.

We sat down with Myles to talk to him about his apprenticeship experience at Oaklands College:

So Myles, tell us about your time at Oaklands? What led you to study here and what have you enjoyed about your course and surroundings? 

“Oaklands College is the closest college to me which runs the NVQ Brickwork course and apprenticeship, I’ve found that the tutors on my course are happy and approachable and always interested about what I am doing at work and can always relate to the job.”

How are you finding the Apprenticeship so far? 

“I’m really enjoying it – So far in my apprenticeship I have learnt a lot of different skills and discovered many problems which cannot be taught in a standard college workshop. I enjoy the different locations we work in because you learn something new on each job.

Starting out, the roles and responsibilities I had were limited to my experience, so the main focus was making sure that the work I was doing was correct and up to industry standard.

I’ve spent a good couple of months now labouring and shadowing more experienced work colleagues, watching how they worked and then applying that to the section of work I was given.”

What would you say has been the major highlight of your Apprenticeship so far? 

“The major highlight of my apprenticeship are working on some of the National Trust properties and other amazing locations. I enjoyed these experiences because of the specialist work in which is required for the restoration of these properties.”

How did you secure your Apprenticeship programme? 

The apprenticeship was arranged by the company I work for, who contacted the college directly.

From there, I came into the college to arrange a meeting and receive a mentor for my apprenticeship programme.”

Would you recommend the Apprenticeship that you studied? 

“Yes, I would highly recommend doing a Bricklaying Apprenticeship because you will learn a lot more on site than being in a college workshop full-time. There is only so much the workshop can offer you in terms of practical experience. Plus, you get a better and better understanding of the theory work when applying it to a work environment.

If you’re interested in learning more about our apprenticeships, you can discover more here.