New apprentice recruits start work
Dec 15, 2015
A Salford housing provider and its partner contractors have welcomed their latest intake of apprentices.
Salix Homes, which owns more than 8,300 homes across central Salford, has appointed 36 apprentices this year in a range of roles from construction to customer service.
The recruits, who are all local people aged between 17 and 41, have been employed directly with the housing provider as well as with its partner contractors including construction specialists Emanuel Whittaker, Seddon, and A Connolly Ltd, and property maintenance providers Sure Group.
Among the apprentices is 20-year-old Salix Homes tenant Tom Denton, from Charlestown, Salford, who is an apprentice joiner with Oldham-based Emanuel Whittaker.
Tom said: “I feel really lucky to have been selected for this apprenticeship and being able to earn while I learn. As well as learning a new skill which I know will be useful in the future, it’s good that I am helping to improve my local area.”
The new recruits are working on Salix Homes’ £22million investment programme, which will see improvements made to 2,200 homes in Salford over the next two years including new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors.
Mark Foster, head of investment at Salix Homes, said: “We are very proud to work alongside our partner contractors to provide these training opportunities for local people to help them create a better life for themselves. “Apprentices represent the future of the housing sector and we are confident our newest cohort will not only gain valuable skills, experience and qualifications, but will also help us to develop a stronger workforce.”
Over the next five years, Salix Homes will create hundreds of new jobs and training opportunities after tenants voted to transfer the ownership of their homes from Salford Council – a move that has unlocked £75m investment in homes and communities across the city.
John Gallagher, contracts director at Emanuel Whittaker, said: “Emanuel Whittaker is renowned for its apprenticeship training and we have a strong history of working with young people. We are very pleased to be continuing this tradition with this latest selection of recruits at Salix Homes.”
Simon Harrison, managing director at A Connolly Ltd, added: “Our business ethos is to raise awareness of construction careers, and also invest in young people who want to work within the industry. Our commitment to our apprentices is to take them through to NVQ3 in their chosen trade or profession and this has been recognised in our recent award through GM Chamber Wigan business awards in supporting apprentices.”
Maggie Heap, community project manager at Seddon, said: “It is a privilege to be able to welcome our latest raft of recruits 119 years after we first launched in Salford.
“Salix Homes is committed to not only improving people’s home through the improvement works, but also helping young people climb the career ladder. This passion is inspiring and we are delighted to be involved with the project.”
Jane Cunningham, director at Sure Maintenance added: “Well trained, quality gas and electrical engineers are critical, as they keep Salix Homes’ customers safe. We are delighted to have recruited motivated and enthusiastic local people as apprentices to support the on-going future delivery of the Salix Homes electrical and gas services.”
The apprenticeships are run in conjunction with procurement consortium Procure Plus.
Kate Parker, senior regeneration manager at Procure Plus, added: “We are thrilled that both Salix Homes and our contractor partners have provided meaningful, paid employment opportunities for many local people who may have otherwise struggled to secure employment.
“Salix Homes’ commitment to improving properties over the next five years means we can offer full apprenticeships, training people in trades which will ensure they can sustain their own employment for years to come.”
Rachel wins Judges Choice Award at Builder and Engineer Awards
Nov 20, 2015Congratulations to Emanuel Whittaker’s External Wall Insulator Rachel Howarth, who won the Judges Choice Award at last nights Builder & Engineer National Awards at Old Trafford.
Rachel was short-listed for the ‘Rising Star’ award after making history by being the first person in the UK to complete the new External Wall Insulation qualification earlier this year. Rachel was joined by her dad, Paul, and friends and mentors John Woolley, Lee Bradbury and Procure Plus’s Mark Wilson.
When the Rising Star award was won by another nominee, Rachel and her guests were all devastated. Whilst still commiserating, the host announced the final award of the evening – the Builder & Engineer “Judges Choice Award”. Imagine Rachel’s suprise when the host called out her name.
The Judges Choice Award celebrates and recognises outstanding performance within the industry and as the award is drawn across all other categories, it truly is a remarkable achievement. The award highlights individuals or companies who are making an incredible mark on the sector and who deserve recognition for there contribution to the UK’s reputation as a leading design and build nation.
Congratulations to Rachel and all of Emanuel Whittaker’s Mentors who have help her to achieve this award.
Emanuel Whitaker opens Salford training centre as part of multi-million pound contract wins with Salix Homes
Sep 2, 2015
Pictured from left: Emanuel Whittaker Contracts Director John Gallgher; Salix Homes Head of Property Service Mark Foster; Executive Director of Operations Sue Sutton; Emanuel Whittaker Contracts Manager Terry Kidman and Partnerships Manager Rukhsana Nabi
Emanuel Whittaker has established an apprentice training centre as part of its new depot in Salford.
Emanuel Whittaker has established the new depot on Missouri Avenue in Weaste to support long-term contract wins in the city, and has created the training facility to help boost local employment opportunities though its work with housing provider Salix Homes.
“Having secured continuity of work in Salford we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to the area. The new office will help us to create sustainable employment, source local suppliers and subcontractors and use local services,” said managing director, Clive Newton.
Emanuel Whittaker works with social landlords across the North West to refurbish their housing stock, and was recently awarded a contract worth over £7 million by Salix Homes to help deliver its £22 million improvement programme to homes across the city over the next two years.
Mark Foster, head of investment at Salix Homes, said: “Emanuel Whittaker is a main partner in our investment programme and has already played a significant role in the first phase of our modernisation plans for our housing stock. Having them based closer to the areas where we work will help us to deliver value for money. We are particularly excited about the new training facilities, which will allow us and other Salford-based partners more opportunities to work with young people and apprentices.”
As well as the training centre, the Salford office will provide meeting space for local teams and a huge warehouse which will take deliveries of stock to allow for more cost and resource savings.
Other partners who will benefit from the new office facilities will include Salford based housing providers Contour Homes and City West Housing Trust as well as Trafford based regeneration consortium Procure Plus.
Mark Wilson, regeneration manager at Procure Plus, said: “It’s great to see our framework partners offering employment support in the local communities we operate in. As a regeneration consortium, it is vital that we continue to assist the creation of training opportunities within our local areas to sustain long term employment and revitalise the community.”
Emanuel Whittaker director John Gallagher added: “This is a new and exciting phase in the growth of our business and continues our commitment to enhancing social value contribution in the areas where we work. We currently recruiting three full time staff and we anticipate more vacancies will be available in the future.”
Former nursery nurse achieves a construction first
Jul 6, 2015
A former nursery nurse who swapped the playroom for the building site has become the first person in the UK to achieve a ground breaking new construction qualification.
Rachel Howarth (25) is an employee of Oldham building and refurbishment company Emanuel Whittaker and has made history after achieving an NVQ Level 3 in External Wall Insulation at Salford City College’s City Skills Sixth Form Centre.
Lee Bradbury, Health, Safety & Environment Manager for Emanuel Whittaker, said: “It’s no surprise that Rachel has become the first to qualify. In her career with us to date, she has been keen to develop and learn new skills and is a great asset to the company.”
Rachel, from Salford, originally trained in childcare, but decided on a career change after being made redundant from her job as a nursery nurse. She said: “I only went into childcare because I didn’t know what to do when I left school.
“My granddad was a plasterer and I was always into DIY growing up and so after I was made redundant I was happy to join Emmanuel Whittaker as an apprentice plasterer. There is lots of laughing and banter with the lads – I love it.”
After completing her plastering apprenticeship, Rachel was keen to take advantage of the new qualification which was developed by North West regeneration consortium, Procure Plus, who worked with various partners to develop the criteria for the qualification before receiving approval from Ofqual.
Mark Wilson, Regeneration Manager at Procure Plus, said: “Developed in partnership with Salix Homes, this qualification will go a long way to ensure that Rachel and many others have the desired skills to support our industry’s mission in providing robust insulation that significantly reduces carbon emissions.”
Rachel has been honing her skills at Salix Homes’ multi-million pound improvement projects on tower blocks across Salford, including Floral Court in Broughton and Riverbank and Newbank Towers in Greengate.
Mark Foster, head of investment at Salix Homes, added: “Salix Homes was keen to launch this new qualification and generate a workforce of home-grown talent who could deliver this specialist skill and we’re very proud that Rachel is the first to qualify. She is a fantastic role model and a real ambassador for women in the construction industry.”
The UK has approximately 26 million homes and it is estimated that around half of these are not insulated properly with heat escaping through walls, ceiling and windows. As energy prices continue to increase, wall insulation has never been so important. The Level 3 NVQ in External Wall Insulation addresses a skills gap within the construction industry, as, prior to its creation, there was no available progression route for Apprentices completing the Level 2 qualification.
Salford City College’s City Skills Sixth Form Centre works closely with partners in the construction industry to deliver bespoke, industry-standard workshops which allow students to develop their skills in a professional environment. Andrew Hallsworth, Work Based Learning Delivery Leader at Salford City College, said: “We are pleased to have played a part in Rachel’s success and the delivery of this qualification, which has created new avenues of progression for Apprentices within the construction industry.”
We’ve got Gold!
Jun 30, 2015
Emanuel Whittaker has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People Gold standard, joining the top 7% of accredited organisations across the UK who believe in realising the potential of their people
Managing Director, Clive Newton said: “We have successfully completed a demanding assessment process across several days. As well as looking at our administration and operating systems, the process included interviews with myself, senior managers, office staff and site staff from every rank.
“The company scored 186 out of 196 and I am so proud of all our people who work to the same high standards day in, day out. This gold award is a tribute to how the company is managed at all levels and reflects on the positive ethos and attitude of our employees.”
Investors in People is a management framework for high performance through people. Its prestigious accreditation is recognised across the world as a mark of excellence and it champions best practice in people management determined via a rigorous and objective assessment to determine performance.
Susan Holt, the assessor from Investors in People said: “Emanuel Whittaker achieved its goals through its positive and consistent people practices. Everyone is valued for their contribution and the sense of team along with the commitment to business goals is strong across all roles. It was a privilege to share in the company’s positive culture and be involved in their achievement of Gold.”
This new gold standard will join the company’s other quality accreditations which include Committed2Equality (gold), Construction Skills (Platinum), EN ISO 14001:2004 and ISO9001:2008.
Human Resource Manager Anna Whittaker was responsible for leading the Investors in People process. “We are absolutely delighted with this recognition,” she said. “The gold standard will ensure we maintain and recruit great staff and will also demonstrate to our existing and new clients that we have the best people working at Emanuel Whittaker.”