Supporting Local Employment Through Apprenticeships

Written by Sonya Holmes, HR Director at Fortem

The need for skilled workers has never been greater. According to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the UK construction sector must attract an additional 50,300 workers per year for the next five years to meet the increasing demands of the industry - up from last year’s figure of 45,000. This critical labour gap underscores the importance of apprenticeships in both addressing industry shortages and supporting the vitality of local communities.

Since 2002, Fortem has successfully trained over 350 apprentices, providing them with valuable skills across trades, office roles, and specialist fields. These individuals not only become qualified professionals, but they also represent the future of our business, serving as ambassadors for Fortem within their communities.

A key benefit of apprenticeships is the ability to earn while learning. Our apprentices achieve Level 2 to Level 7 qualifications, gaining the knowledge, hands-on experience, and skills they need to either continue their careers with Fortem or explore new opportunities.

Our award-winning apprenticeship program offers a pathway to lifelong skills, a recognized qualification, and a competitive salary. Through our ‘Growing Our Own’ initiative, we focus on developing and training apprentices, tradespeople, and staff, which we believe is essential to our success and the growth of the communities we serve.

We continue to support learning by utilising apprenticeship qualifications at all levels, including updating our people’s technical skills with our established learning partners. This includes new products and systems of work to ensure our people have the right skills going forward.  

Why local recruitment matters

As a national business with long-term contracts that can span over a decade, we’re committed to leaving a lasting legacy in the communities where we operate.

For us, it’s not just about fixing a leaky tap or installing insulation. It’s about creating healthy homes within vibrant communities, and local employment plays a significant role in this.

That’s why we make it a priority to recruit locally for all our contracts. We offer apprenticeships in various disciplines and work closely with our social landlord clients and local employment organisations to ensure our apprentice vacancies are accessible to everyone.

Apprenticeships provide a strong foundation for a long and rewarding career. Take Adam McGahan, for example. He joined Fortem in 2019 as a carpentry apprentice and, after completing his two year apprenticeship, he moved into a trade role to consolidate his skills. In 2023, Adam entered our trade development programme, Fortem Advance, choosing to diversify his skills further in a commercial role. On his graduation of the 12 month programme, Adam was promoted to a repairs and maintenance surveyor.

Adam is now continuing his journey to become a quantity surveyor as Fortem are sponsoring his quantity surveying degree on a day release basis. His journey highlights the career growth and opportunities that apprenticeships can offer.

Proudest moments in our apprenticeship scheme

There have been many proud moments throughout the years, but one highlight for me is our annual apprentice and trainee awards. This event brings together our apprentices, management trainees, Fortem advance and mentors to celebrate all their achievements. It is amazing to see their journeys, successes and achievements in such a short space of time.

Another memorable challenge for me was when our trainees and apprentices dedicated over 1,600 hours to renovate Charles House, one of Birmingham Children’s Trust’s respite homes to create a safer, more enjoyable environment for the children there. I always remember the launch event and the children’s faces when they saw the upgraded facility.

What’s next for Fortem’s apprenticeship scheme?

As our business grows, so will our apprenticeship opportunities. With the launch of our new business strategy, we’re focusing on three key workstreams through to 2030: Repairs and Maintenance, Capital Works, and Retrofit. Over the next four years, Fortem plans to recruit over 100 apprentices and management trainees from local communities, further strengthening our talent pipeline.

We understand the labour shortages and rising costs in the social housing sector, which makes it crucial for us to invest in apprentices and ensure they receive the right training to meet industry demands while pursuing their own career aspirations.

One recent success story is the introduction of our first-ever Customer Liaison Apprentice, James Ambrose. James is currently working on our capital works contract with Lincolnshire Housing Partnership and is off to a strong start.

Looking ahead, we plan to expand our apprenticeship opportunities, particularly in our retrofit workstream. With the government’s Net Zero targets, there’s a significant need for upskilling in green technologies. Fortem is committed to providing the training and support needed to help apprentices gain these in-demand skills.

Our Retrofit Access programme, launched last year, is an excellent example of this. It offers residents with no prior qualifications the chance to earn while they learn, with a 360-degree training approach led by skilled mentors. Upon completion, participants receive essential certifications such as a CSCS card, manual handling, asbestos awareness, and heat pump installation training, all funded by Fortem.

Fortem is proud to be paving the way for the future of sustainable housing and local employment through our apprenticeship scheme.

To apply for our 2025 apprenticeship scheme, apply via our website https://www.fortem.co.uk/opportunities. Applications close at the end of February 2025