A number of apprentices at FM Conway have graduated from the apprenticeship programme and will now work for the company.
Fourteen young adults will now go on to take up full-time roles at the business, including surfacing, street lighting and finance positions, as they start the next stage of their careers in the construction industry.
FM Conway currently has 52 apprentices as part of a multi-faceted training and development programme aimed at tackling the industry’s skills gap, which includes a higher education scholarship programme and mentoring scheme.
This year’s graduating apprentices celebrated their success at a lunch event on Thursday 24 November with FM Conway chief executive officer, Michael Conway. FM Conway also announced apprentice highways maintenance operative, Tony Augustine, as its apprentice of the year.
Augustine joined the business in 2015 after completing a pre-employment course at the London Highways Academy of Excellence – a training academy set up by FM Conway in partnership with The Worshipful Company of Paviors to support young people looking to start new careers in the construction industry. He has since become an integral part of FM Conway’s surfacing team, working on a number of high-profile contracts for the company including projects across the Transport for London (TfL) road network.
Liz Garvey, head of HR at FM Conway, commented: “The construction and highways industries are facing one of the worst skills shortages in living memory. It is vital that businesses do what they can to attract talented individuals and showcase the opportunities a career in infrastructure can offer for people at every stage of their professional development.
“We need a wide-ranging approach to skills development if we are to make an impact and engaging with young people via apprenticeship programmes is a key part of this. A number of FM Conway’s senior employees started their careers as apprentices and we hope this year’s graduates will remain with us for many years to come.”
