Page 17 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Twelve

W M Donald’s Schools Initiative: the future belongs to those who prepare for it today*
The UK construction workforce is ageing. The retirement of skilled tradespeople reduces the pool of skilled workers.
W M Donald recognised in 2019 that leaving ‘market forces’ to supply the workforce of the future was a risk too far. Consequently, it has committed to significant ongoing investment in training and
development to assure its future viability.
Across Brexit and Covid
W M Donald has continued to recruit apprentices; twelve apprentices joined our apprenticeship scheme in 2021. 10% of our site workforce is made up of apprentices and 23% are either an apprentice or have completed their training within the last three years.
Schools Initiative
In November, W M Donald launched a new initiative to make school students aware of the career opportunities that exist within civil engineering. On 9 November, twenty students from Banchory Academy visited the Bancon Homes site at Lochside of Leys. The students were fifteen and sixteen years of age and could potentially, therefore, be interested in applying for W M Donald’s apprenticeship programme in 2022.
Fully kitted out in helmets and hi-vis, the students were tasked with laying foundations under the watchful eye of Mike Meldrum, Technical Director, and Rachel O’Donnell, HR Manager. Two of W M Donald’s current cohort of apprentices came along to share their experiences of what working on site is really like.
W M Donald would like to thank Jarvie Plant, Ross Safety and Survival, Portwest and MSA for their support on the day.
Here is a selection of the students’ feedback:
‘Good work experience because you get a feel for the work site and everything they do.’
‘Beautiful atmosphere. You learn about measuring and the ipad in the digger was interesting.’
‘A very enjoyable day out. We were outside learning about a live construction site gaining hands on experience marking out foundations and setting concrete.’
‘I have enjoyed being outside because I like working with machines.’
*Quote from Malcolm X, African American human rights activitist
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