Newbury MP presents apprenticeship award to local contractor Helix

Published by

Peter Davison

Newbury-based construction company Helix Group has been awarded a Certificate of Commendation for Investment in Training from the West Berkshire Training Consortium.

The certificate was presented to the firm by Newbury MP Laura Farris during a visit to the firm's Greenham Business Park headquarters.

The MP met with Oliver Pearce, management trainee, Sinead Anns-Null, business administration apprentice, and Ryan Kidney, kickstart apprentice.

“It was a pleasure to visit Helix and meet Sinead, Ollie and Ryan – three different types of trainees developing skills and experience across the sector. I may be biased, but apprenticeships are one of the things that Newbury does best,” said Laura.

Sinead told her: “A great part of being in an apprenticeship at an SME is that I’ve been able to get a range of experience from across the business.

"I’m especially enjoying finance and design. I feel like I’m in a situation where I am supported to choose what direction I want to go in.”

The Certificate of Commendation award came as the company has sought opportunities to help tackle the skills crisis in the UK construction industry and youth unemployment head-on by hiring apprentices and trainees.

Recent steps taken by Helix include offering an Internship to a University of Reading student and delivering guest lectures to the University of Westminster and Newbury College.

Claire Richards, executive director of West Berkshire Training Consortium, said: “We are delighted to award the Certificate of Commendation to Helix Group. They are an excellent example of an employer who, having considered the advantages of the Apprenticeship Scheme, put real time and effort into setting up a successful programme.

“By supporting their trainees, they are investing the future of the company.”

Nic Davies, managing director at Helix Group, said: “Construction has a long tradition of traineeships welcoming people from a range of backgrounds. There are opportunities in construction for people with a whole host of strengths and interests, and we aim to shine a light on the range of routes into the industry.

“It means a lot to receive this award from WBTC. When it comes to investing in the next generation of young construction professionals we’re just getting started.”

As vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Environment, Laura had a passionate discussion about ecological building solutions with Helix Group's management team.

The constructor has become a go-to environmental specialist in the South East with experience installing air and ground source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels and working to meet and exceed Future Homes standards across its projects.

Pictured left to right: Nic Davies, Oliver Pearce, Laura Farris, Sinead Anns-Null, Ryan Kidney, Carl Mulkern

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.