Last week marked Apprenticeship Week Wales – a chance to shine a light on apprenticeships as a path into work.
At Plasdŵr, apprentices form a key part of the workforce, spanning a variety of sectors including construction, sales, and engineering across the whole development. Apprentices are employed by our individual developers and will play a key role in bringing our new community to life.
Here are five reasons why apprentices are important in the development of Plasdŵr.
- Fresh ideas
Apprentices can bring a fresh, new perspective, offering new ideas and ways of doing things. Plasdŵr isn’t just one of the largest developments in Wales, it’s also a “garden city for the 21st century”. Inspired by the original Garden City Movement, Plasdŵr will be a sustainable community with places to live, learn, work and play. Apprentices will play an integral role in bringing much-needed housing and amenities to northwest Cardiff. Plasdŵr will take time to build; as it takes shape ideas and ways of doing things will develop too. Bringing in new perspectives and ideas makes sure we’re keeping things up to date.
- Taking Plasdŵr into the future
Investing in talent allows the development of skills and knowledge which will be relevant now and in the future. The construction industry as a whole has an ageing workforce, so apprentices are vital to making sure skills and knowledge are passed down to the next generation. As the development grows over the next 20+ years, some of the apprentices at the development will grow with it too – playing a fundamental role in assisting the progression of the ‘garden city’ through sustainable employment. At Plasdŵr, we aren’t just building houses for people to live in. We’re also factoring in social sustainability, infrastructure, biodiversity, and green space – all of which are crucial elements in creating a strong community. Apprentices will play a key role in each element of creating this new community.
- A variety of skillsets
Apprenticeships are available in a wide range of sectors to people of all ages – from those leaving education to people thinking about changing career. Construction, engineering, and sales are just some of the areas in which apprentices are currently employed across Plasdŵr, but as the development progresses more opportunities may become available. With Cardiff projected to be one of the largest growing cities in the UK over the next 20 years, creating quality jobs for our young people and giving them opportunities to develop their skills will be crucial to supporting the city’s growth.
- Highly qualified staff with up-to-date skills and knowledge
Like most apprentices, all those working on the development of Plasdŵr will gain a qualification and earn a wage at the same time. Although their learning will mostly be practical, they also undertake classroom-based learning once a week. This keeps the skills of our workforce up to date and makes sure we have qualified, highly trained people working across Plasdŵr, which means we can bring local people and residents much-needed homes and facilities developed to a high standard.
- Investing in local talent
Many of the current developers and contractors at Plasdŵr are based in south Wales. Lead developer, Redrow, is a Welsh business with a base in Cardiff, Bellway recruits Welsh apprentices and local south Wales businesses Lewis Homes and Walters have also begun work at the development in 2021. Developing quality talent benefits construction in Wales as a whole. It supports quality development right across Wales, both within Plasdŵr and beyond, now and in the future.
Over its lifetime, Plasdŵr will create over 5,000 jobs which will include apprenticeships and training roles for young people. As the development progresses, new employment opportunities will arise which will create jobs for local people throughout its lifetime.