Apprentices from housebuilder Redrow’s Bristol office have been named finalists in a prestigious national hunt to find the UK’s most diligent and enthusiastic apprentices.
After four months of hard work, the nine-strong team has been chosen to represent the South West in the finals of the Brathay Apprentice Challenge, which celebrates the best apprentices in the country.
Redrow’s success was announced at the House of Commons by Godfrey Owen, chief executive of organisers Brathay Trust and the apprentices will now join teams from Derwent Training Association, JCB, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Nottingham City Homes, Severn Trent Water and WSP in the finals. 
The finalists have been chosen from among more than 650 apprentices across 75 organisations, including leading apprentice employers, training providers and colleges.
To gain the coveted place, the Redrow team carried out 11 visits to local schools and young people’s groups where they hosted talks and presentations about the benefit of apprenticeships.
They volunteered at a young carers’ centre in Fishponds, where they redesigned and rebuilt a garden for the young people to relax and socialise in.
They also hosted a business event so they could talk to potential employers about offering apprenticeships.
Redrow South West managing director Lee Hawker said: “It’s a great achievement for our team of nine Redrow South West apprentices to make the finals, which as a minimum puts them in the top 12% of the 650 apprentices who participated.
“The 2017 Brathay Apprentice Challenge has been a fantastic way of highlighting all the great apprenticeship opportunities at Redrow. 
“Our apprentices have done Redrow proud and we’re looking forward to the finals already. Congratulations to all the team and to the other eight teams who’ve made the final.”
Grace Knight, 17, who joined Redrow as an office apprentice last August, said: “It’s fantastic to be chosen as finalists as everyone on the team has worked so hard to get here.
“Apprenticeships are a great way for young people like me to get on the job ladder while also benefitting from professional training. Loads of the apprentices at Redrow go on to work their way up into permanent roles.
“We’re all keen to spread the word about the benefits of apprenticeships and the Brathay Apprentice Challenge has been the perfect way to do that.
“We’ve all gained lots of new skills like presenting, teamwork and leadership and had a great time doing it. Now we’re focused on doing the best we can at the national finals.”
Across the UK, the teams taking part in the challenge have visited nearly 500 schools and youth groups to talk about the benefits of earning while you learn on an apprenticeship.
The teams also hosted more than 120 business events to talk to potential employers about offering apprenticeships, recruiting nearly 400 organisations to start hiring apprentices.
The national finalists will now continue awareness raising activities until early June, when they will go to Brathay Trust’s Windermere headquarters for the logistical and teambuilding finale. The team of the year will be announced on June 14.
Godfrey Owen said: “All of the teams that have taken part have worked really hard and the quality of the portfolios increases year on year.
“The apprentice team of the year finals demonstrate the skills, knowledge and desire to succeed from apprentices; and this continues to inspire others and impress us in equal measure.
“It is great to see apprentices put in the hard work to get the recognition they deserve, highlighting how apprenticeships benefit not only young people themselves, but their employers and their local community too.”
