It’s National Apprenticeship Week (6 – 12 Feb) the 16th annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships and this year’s theme is Skills for Life. 

Across the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme, we want to build a positive legacy for existing communities. Our mission is that everyone living in the area has access to training opportunities and employment, building strong relationships with education and delivery partners to achieve this.  

Some apprentices we met over the last year across the regeneration programme include 19-year-old Barnet local resident, Ryan McCabe , who is an apprentice groundworker at Galldris building Brent Cross Town. Ryan passed his probation last October and is looking forward to becoming a qualified groundworker.  

Ryan tells us: “Since starting my apprenticeship, I have learnt new skills and appreciate the value of working alongside experienced workers who show me new different ways to perform different parts of the job and will build my confidence in this sector”.  

Another apprentice also from Barnet and working at Brent Cross Town is 19-year-old Ruben Bizgan. Ruben started working with Midgard as an apprentice carpenter and after a year’s training, is now a fully qualified carpenter working as part of the team that is building the new homes at Brent Cross Town.  

Ruben shares with us “I’ve lived in Barnet for the past couple of years, so it is a great feeling to be working on a project that is going to change the face of the local area.” 

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we have also looked back at some of the ways we’re making sure our community benefits from the skills and opportunities in the area: 

• Over the last year, we have placed 14 residents in apprenticeships and, as the programme develops, we are committed to ensuring 6% of the workforce is made up of apprentices.

• We challenge all our construction partners to ensure that at least 20% of people working across the regeneration programme are from Barnet, Brent and Camden.   

• In early January this year, we announced the start of construction works on the first two residential buildings at Brent Cross Town. The new construction work provides more opportunities for the local community as up to 350 people will be working on the sites at peak time. Find out more about this announcement and the job opportunities created here.  

• Our groundworker partners Galldris have won four awards for their outstanding employment programme, including their apprenticeship programme at Brent Cross Town.  

Through apprenticeships, we are also encouraging more women into careers in the construction industry Eleanor Jackson is one of our most recent success stories, working to build the new Brent Cross West station, Eleanor started from an apprenticeship with our partners VolkerFitzpatrick and is now a qualified Site Engineer.  

Across the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme, we also work with organisations like Women in Construction, and are committed to providing flexible working and training to tackle the barriers women face to enter the construction industry. We have several women in leadership roles across the project, like Belul Mesfin who is an Assistant Construction Manager with Galldris working at Brent Cross Town. From starting as a Graduate Construction Manager, in June 2021, Belul was promoted a year later to Assistant Construction Manager with an important role in laying the foundations for Brent Cross Town.  

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about starting an apprenticeship in the construction industry, sign up to our e-newsletters and keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities which will be advertised on here.  

You can find out more about the opportunities available across the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration scheme on our opportunities page. 

To find out more about apprenticeships in Barnet contact boostbarnet.org/