Rock’s apprentice programme is central to our strategy for future growth. On the one hand, it ensures that the skills of our workforce are renewed and extended for many years to come. On the other, it helps raise standards in general throughout our industry, and demonstrates our willingness to creating employment opportunities in areas neighbouring many of our projects.
Rock has been closely involved on a number of schemes in the West Midlands in partnership with Lend Lease, and in the London Borough of Southwark with Mace and Costain. The local authorities in each have specified the use of local labour and apprentices in their respective areas – an initiative which Rock fully supports. To this end, we have taken on two new apprentices, one from Birmingham and one from Southwark, to support them as they study at Hackney Community College for a Mastic Asphalt NVQ Level 2.
Hackney Community College is, in fact, the only further education institution in the country that offers this traditional skill. Hayden Vigers, our apprentice from Birmingham, told us, “The facilities are excellent, with a specialist workshop and all the equipment we need to master what is a highly skilled trade. The staff have been great too, as they’re friendly and helpful and clearly very experienced. I’ve also really enjoyed working with the team at Rock, and look forward to applying my new mastic asphalt skills to a variety of projects, especially those that involve regeneration.”
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