The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Teenager joins the apprentice team
From constructing bird houses, benches and garden sheds, Stephenie Barron is ready to take her joinery skills to new heights with Stewart Milne Homes.
The 18-year-old is one of six new apprentices about to start their careers with the award-winning housebuilder.
With a passion for joinery and woodwork, the Aberdeenshire lass has secured an apprenticeship in construction, one of the most competitive and popular sectors for young apprentices.
Having always enjoyed the practical aspect of joinery and the satisfaction of finishing a construction project, Stephenie has decided to turn her hobby into a career and has just started a four-year programme to gain the skills and experience required in the construction industry with Stewart Milne Homes.
Stephenie, the daughter of an engineer from Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire first got her taste for making things out of wood when she undertook a woodwork class at Mearns Academy.
Advancing her skills at Dundee and Angus College, Stephenie has constructed garden sheds, wooden benches and sand pits for local primary schools, as well as making her own bird houses for sale.
Stephenie was immediately attracted to the Stewart Milne apprenticeship programme due to the “size and reputation of the housebuilder, as well as the way in which they treat their employees”. She said: “I’m ready for the challenge ahead and excited about being part of Stewart Milne Homes. The apprenticeship will provide me with the practical experience and the training to help me excel in the construction industry.”
Attracting more girls into construction, a sector where women are underrepresented, is high on Stewart Milne Group’s agenda. The housebuilder and timber systems manufacturer has been seeking to close the gender gap by promoting positive career pathways across a wide range of roles for women.
Stewart Milne Group recognises that failing to take action to create improved diversity and close the growing skills gap is simply not an option in the male-dominated construction industry.
Chief executive of Stewart Milne Group, Glenn Allison, said: “We need to realise the benefits of greater diversity and attract more women across the various disciplines.
“We have achieved equal pay for equal work but to close the gender pay gap we need to address the under-representation of women in the sector.
“By taking an industrywide collaborative approach with schools, colleges and universities and through initiatives such as Developing the Young Workforce, we can encourage more women to view construction as a positive and rewarding sector in which to build a long and successful career.”