Kieron Coffey
Age: 21
Trade: Carpenter
Borough: Hackney
Apprenticeship: Level 2 Site Carpentry
College: Hackney Community College
Background: Kieron was studying at college in Westminster towards his Level 2 Engineering qualification. He realised that his passion lay in construction, instead of being the person who designed a project, he actually wanted to build it.
What happened next: Kieron then applied to K10 to start his Level 2 Site Carpentry apprenticeship. He had a bit of experience doing odd carpentry jobs for family members and K10 were more than happy to take him on to further his knowledge and experience.
During the Apprenticeship: ‘When looking back at my apprenticeship, I didn’t think it would have been as smooth or fun as it was but almost like school in the sense of it being really strict and having loads of rules. I actually enjoyed getting up and going to work every day and didn’t see it as a chore but that I was doing what I wanted to do. When I was put on site with South Eastern Carpentry, I had such a great time and it gave me the experience I wanted. My site supervisors were very helpful in the fact that if I ever needed photos taken to gather evidence for my NVQ, they were more than willing to take time out of their day to take them. They also helped a lot when it came to me doing my write ups for college, they would advise me on the best way to explain tasks I had done.’
‘The college I was placed with was good too. My tutor was so helpful and the lessons were made to be as straightforward as possible by him making pamphlets of the work, making what could’ve been quite difficult, rather easy. K10 were also brilliant, my Apprenticeship Manager, Jack, Jack was a huge help. On my first site it was a bit slow in terms of being able to gather evidence for my NVQ on site and he stepped in and moved me to a better site. If I could go back to the start of my apprenticeship I would have more confidence in myself to ask for work that would contribute to my NVQ so I could’ve gotten it completed sooner.’
After the Apprenticeship: Since completing his apprenticeship, Kieron has been taken on direct by South Eastern Carpentry. He will be starting his Level 3 Carpentry qualification through them with a significant pay increase from his original starting apprenticeship wage.
