Although 22-year-old Jonty Muirhead is only two years into his apprenticeship, he feels his career at Howard Civil Engineering has already put him a step ahead of his peers at college.

Jonty became a member of the team in August 2020 and has since cut his teeth on eight different sites, gaining first-hand experience of life on site as a professional engineer. He firmly believes that this degree of participation would not have been possible without the support and trust from his managers at Howard Civil Engineering.

“I have had support from site managers and shadowed engineers to help me progress, but I definitely have had more responsibility at Howard [Civil Engineering] than other people on my course have had at their companies,” he said. “This has allowed me to gain skills quicker than I would at other places in the industry, and this has subsequently allowed more opportunities to open up for me.”

Jonty quickly got to grips with the more technical aspects of his role including using CAD, reading drawings, and setting out, but says the more hands-on responsibilities including ordering materials and operating machine GPS have done wonders for his confidence.

“I think this is a better way of learning, as some things can be overlooked when shadowing someone because that person might not think to tell you certain things which would help you learn,” he said. “I’m now much more able to deal with people relying on me for tasks to be done than I would be otherwise.”

Having completed his Level 3 NVQ in Civil Engineering, Jonty is currently working towards his Level 4 NVQ Diploma and hopes to eventually achieve his Level 6, meaning he would be qualified up to degree level.

So, what advice would Jonty give to those considering an apprenticeship in the construction industry?

“Keep safe, wear correct PPE, and always be alert on site as there is heavy plant and machinery moving all the time,” he warned. “Also, certain tasks take time to be able to be done at a decent standard. Research and practice those things. For me it was using CAD - I watched videos on YouTube and explored the software to be able to improve my skills.”

Great advice, Jonty!