Gabriel Hamilton
Age: 21
Trade: Construction Operative
Borough: Southwark
Apprenticeship: Level 2 Construction Operations
College: Flower Skills
Background: Prior to K10, Gabriel was in college studying towards a qualification in Business Studies; however he felt that this route did not suit his skill set and wanted to pursue a more hands-on role. He decided that construction would be an area of interest and applied to K10 hoping to get some guidance on which trade he would be best suited towards.
During the Apprenticeship: After speaking with K10’s apprentice manager Peter Bannister, Gabriel decided that he would like to explore Construction Operations with a focus on groundwork. Gabriel was initially placed with Coinfords on Linden Homes’ Grange Walk Site in Southwark. He loved the environment and as he had no prior knowledge or experience, everything was a learning curve. ‘I was always busy. To be honest, there really weren’t any negative parts of my time with K10, the hours were long but that’s part of the process, something you have to do. My first site I was on was really good, I enjoyed it so much. I didn’t have any experience so they showed me the basics which I was able to develop and exploit later on in my apprenticeship’. Gabriel’s second placement was on Wandle Homes’ project on Hillingdon Street with contractor Skillcrown. ‘I loved this site, there was always so much work to be done, never a dull day. The college were really helpful when it came to the assignments, they gave you what you needed to put into practice for your portfolio, however, I didn’t expect that as an apprentice, it would be as full on as it was’.
After the Apprenticeship: ‘Looking back at my time at K10, I had such a good experience. Everyone there is on the ball and so helpful. K10 gave me so many opportunities to get into the construction world, opening so many doors for me. I am now currently looking to stay on with K10 and start a carpentry apprenticeship. When I was at Coinfords, I had done some carpentry and I really enjoyed it so it’s now something I want to try.’
We are so impressed with Gabriel and how well he has done on site throughout his whole apprenticeship!
