Fin achieves more than he thought possible gaining a degree through an apprenticeship

Fin takes his apprenticeship to the next level by completing a bachelor’s degree with housing association, LiveWest.

Fin Walker, from Exeter, arrived at LiveWest as a 16-year-old eager to pursue a career in the construction industry and train as quantity surveyor.

He enrolled on a two-year course at Exeter College where he studied Construction Contracting Operations to a Level 3. Fin was then promoted from apprentice to Trainee Quantity Surveyor and enrolled on a four-year part-time Degree in Quantity Surveying alongside full-time work which he has now completed.

Fin, 23, said: “When I joined in 2016, I'd come straight out of school, so I had near enough no experience of working in a business. I thought it'd be a good experience, but I never saw it going this far. And the fact that I was offered the opportunity to do a degree, I was massively appreciative of as the last four years have been challenging, but massively rewarding.

“A degree is something I really wanted to do when I was in school. So, I wanted to study at level 3, then go on to do a degree afterwards. But when I saw the opportunity came up to do an apprenticeship, I thought it was a much more efficient way of getting to where I wanted to be.

“I've learnt how to work in a business, and I've learnt how to apply the skills which I've gained on my course to the real world, which is completely different to what you learn through a textbook. I've got no debt coming out of an apprenticeship degree plus I've been paid throughout the six years that I've been here. So, I feel like I'm in a much better position than I would have been had I gone to university.”

Fin backs National Apprenticeship Week which aims to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses, and the wider economy. He supports the ‘Skills for Life’ element because he feels it contributes to a varied workforce and adds value to not only the person but a business.

He has given various talks to students, some in partnership with Building Greater Exeter as he also enjoys speaking to people about apprentices and has a yearly stand at Exeter College to encourage people to get into a career in construction or another area of the business through apprenticeships with LiveWest.

Fin said: “Speaking from a construction perspective, I think there is a skill shortage in the industry. And I believe that's mostly driven by lack of broadcasting of what's available and the benefits spprenticeships can bring. I think apprentices will support future skills that are needed within this profession.

“My advice to others would be that the research is a big deal going into degree, I think you need to understand and easily adapt to the way they want you to write reports, the referencing, the research and doing it in a certain order. Because I feel, in a level 3 course the assignments may be very knowledge based whereas, moving into a degree, it's massively based on the research and textbooks.

Fin spent four days a week working and one day dedicated to study doing the level 6 which is equivalent to a degree. Alongside this, he is adding another string to his bow by getting his Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors chartership where the experience he has been getting in his degree has allowed him to progress to it.

Although it’s been a big commitment, Fin believes the benefits outweigh any challenges he’s faced, and he would choose to do a degree this way over an academic route.

Fin said: “I'm just glad that the opportunity to do a degree apprenticeship was there because I believe that learning on the job is very valuable. There are countless people that I can rely on at LiveWest if I need assistance or help. From the very start through to now, I feel completely supported. I would like to thank LiveWest for the opportunity and special mention to Tony Franklin, Matthew Gardner, and Ian Simpson for supporting me. I've never been in a situation where I've not been able to ask somebody, and they've not been able to resolve it quickly.

“Having completed my degree I’m over the moon, it's put me in a really good position in my career, and the skills I've learnt from doing it has massively helped what I do at work.  If anybody is interested in a career, whether it be in construction or anything else, if they've got the opportunity to do an apprenticeship, I'd tell them to do it.”