West Country apprentice wins Redrow National Apprentice of the Year Award
A Devon born and bred aspiring painter and decorator with huge ambitions has been named as Redrow’s National Apprentice of the Year.
Courtney Baker-Edwards from the West Country division was presented with the award at Redrow’s annual Apprenticeship Awards which took place at the end of last year.
Redrow prides itself on valuing and developing its employees. The housebuilder has been listed as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer for five consecutive years and was awarded Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Apprentice Employee of the Year.
Courtney joined Redrow two years ago on a painting and decorating apprenticeship, one of the UK’s most in-demand construction trades. She has just completed her Level 3 NVQ.
She began studying for a diploma in painting and decorating at college when she was 16 but when she started looking for jobs she found that almost everything she wanted to do required experience.
At a college careers fair Courtney had a conversation with a Redrow member of staff about the benefits of an apprenticeship and she then started looking into different opportunities available in her local area.
Courtney said: “I knew it was important to go into a job which would lead to a career and my apprenticeship allows me to learn a trade which requires a high level of accuracy and quality, whilst earning a salary.
“As a Redrow apprentice I also get to travel to schools across the country to help young people to better understand the benefits of studying for an apprenticeship, and to do my part to encourage more young women like myself into a career in construction.
“A real highlight of my apprenticeship so far has been being placed in the top three in my category at CITB’s SkillBuild, the UK’s largest multi-trade competition.”
After her apprenticeship, Courtney hopes to progress into building site management and eventually to own her own painting and decorating company.
To find out more about Redrow’s apprenticeship schemes, please visit:https://www.redrowcareers.co.uk/apprenticeships-graduates-work-experience/apprentices/
