Joshua Hunter: Apprentice Of The Year (England)
Joshua Hunter, Houlton’s 350th of 367 apprentices since 1879 won the Apprentice of the Year for England at the CITB Managing Agency Apprenticeship Awards 2016.
Josh received his award on the 27th October at a gala event in London at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. He attended the ceremony with Houlton’s Building & Maintenance Divison’s Operations Manager Mike Johnson, and Andrew Kingston, Director.
The event hosted by Phil Vickery, a member of the 2003 rugby union world cup winning squad and more recently, 2011 Celebrity MasterChef champion, was to celebrate employers who have demonstrated their commitment to recruiting and training and their apprentices
Upon receiving his award, Josh, a modest individual said he was “Over whelmed and pleased that I have achieved so much.”
Josh first came to Houlton on day release, as part of the Diploma in Construction course he was studying at school. He then returned the following year to start a bricklaying apprenticeship with Houlton’s Building & Maintenance Division.
Whilst attending Hull College his academic and bricklaying craft came to the fore, and he was asked to take part in Worldskills UK challenge. He saw off his regional competition to win the gold award and be crowned the UK Bricklaying Champion in November 2015.
Josh is now due to be heading out to Gothenburg, Sweden in December to represent Team UK in the Bricklaying section Of the Euroskills competition. He will be battling against 30 other European competitors in his bid to become European champion.
Andrew Kingston, Director of Houlton’s Building & Maintenance Division said of Josh’s story “Josh is an asset to the business, and obviously very talented. He successfully completed his apprenticeship and we are proud to continue to support him in his continuing studies and career at Houlton. As part of our recognition for his efforts, we have arranged for his parents to attend the Euroskills challenge in Gothenburg to see Josh in the competition first hand. All at Houlton wish him well, good luck in the competition and continued success. ”
Continued Academic Success for Houlton Students
Chris Wilson, Trainee Quantity Surveyor with Buildings and Maintenance and Josh Hunter, Bricklayer, completed year 1 of their BTEC L3 Subsidiary Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment back in June covering the following units:
Health, safety and Welfare in Construction in the Built Environment
Sustainable Construction
Mathematics in Construction and the Built Environment
Science and Materials in Construction and the Built Environment
Construction Technology and Design in Construction and Civil Engineering
Surveying in Construction and Civil Engineering
After picking up awards at the Hull College Construction and Green Energy Skills Awards, the college reported that both Josh and Chris and received a distinction in every unit. So things are looking good heading into their second an final year of the course.
Hull College Annual Construction Awards – June 2016
At this year’s Hull College Construction and Green Energy Skills Awards Ceremony, held at the college on Monday 13th June 2016, three of Houlton students were honoured as the Best Student on their respective courses.
Josh Hunter, a recently qualified bricklayer with Building & Maintenance was presented with an Award in recognition of his achievements over the last few years and being invited to join SquadUK with WorldSkills, and representing the UK at the European Competition to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden in December this year.
Chris Wilson was presented with the Keepmoat Award for the Most Outstanding Student on a Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment. Chris has been at Houlton from school and works in the Building & Maintenance Division as a Trainee Quantity Surveyor having completed his joinery apprenticeship and deciding to expand his horizons into the commercial aspects of construction management.
Vladimir Fomin won the Hull College Award for the Most Outstanding Student on an Extended Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment and also a special award; the Richard Wilson Award for the Most Outstanding Student on a Professional Construction Course. Vladimir was part of a recent work experience programme which involved four full days within different disciplines at Houlton. Subsequent to his award, Vladimir has accepted an offer for a summer placement job as an Assistant Site Manager on our new 14,000 sq m Swift Caravan project.
The Walter Dickerson Memorial Award presented to the Most Outstanding Student on a Brickwork Course, sponsored by Geo. Houlton & Sons Ltd was won by Charles Walsh.
