Derby College student secures job with leading construction group
Thursday 2 February
A student from Derby College’s Professional Construction Career Academy has secured a coveted job with a leading Midlands’ construction group following his summer internship.
Jack Wood from Oakwood was selected to join the Career Academy as part of his Professional Construction course at Derby College based at The Roundhouse.
He was part of a group who have benefited from being personally mentored by professionals from local construction companies, attending ‘Guru Lectures’ by construction experts, joining site visits and complete a six-week paid internship at the construction organisations participating.
Jack has now been taken on by G F Tomlinson & Sons based in Little Eaton following his internship at G F Tomlinson Building and is continuing his studies part time at College – planning to progress onto a Foundation Degree in Professional Construction at the College in September.
Jack said: “I am really pleased that the opportunities given to me through the Career Academy has led to getting a job with G F Tomlinson.
“Shortly after my internship with G F Tomlinson Building in the summer I secured an interview with the ‘Sons’ branch of Tomlinson, and I am really enjoying working here.
“This is the best of both worlds for me – working and then continuing my qualifications at College and I want to go right through to degree level which I can do here in Derby and then do my final two years at Nottingham Trent University.
“Building is in my blood with a lot of my family working in the industry but working for such a well known company as G F Tomlinson is more than I could have hoped for at my age.
"I am getting the chance to work on the tenders and contracts for all sort of big and exciting jobs including the West Burton power station in Nottinghamshire which is the biggest construction project outside the Olympics currently in the UK.”
Derby College Professional Construction Team Manager David Kirkby added: “We are delighted with Jack’s success and are confident that other members of the Career Academy will be following suit in the near future.
“The purpose of the programme is to give the students real work experience and show them all the career opportunities available to them in professional construction from experts in the industry.
“The second cohort of ten students have just started their programme and Jack’s success has really spurred them on to go the extra mile and take full advantage of this fantastic opportunity to extend their studies and put them in touch with people in the industry who can help them in their future working lives.”
They include first year Professional Construction Career Academy students Jaspal and Diljote who both have their sights set on architectural or planning design careers.
Jaspal said: “We have been involved in a wide range of activities as part of the Career Academy so far and I am particularly looking forward to my internship this summer to gain some work experience.
“Jack’s success has certainly given us all a boost and it really makes you want to go on and achieve what he has done.”
Diljote, a former pupil at Littleover Community School, added: “The Career Academy is already opening so many more doors for us – putting us in touch with local employers and hopefully giving us a head start in our careers.”
Pictured: Jack Wood
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