National Apprenticeship Week 2025

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

This week, we’re highlighting three apprentices from across Glencar who are building their careers while gaining hands-on experience:

🔹 Luke Roberts – Assistant Quantity Surveyor
🔹 Natalia Andreeva – Assistant Estimator
🔹 Daniel Cummins – Trainee Construction Manager

Find out how their apprenticeships are shaping their careers below.

Luke Roberts – Assistant Quantity Surveyor (North)

What does your role involve?
My role involves the procurement and commercial management of a variety of subcontractors and other project related activities. I am responsible for work packages from £5,000 to circa £2m which include roofing and cladding, windows and curtain walling, mechanical and electrical and internal finishes. Generally, I will manage a works package from initial tender stage right through to agreeing the final account. I also assist with the general commercial running of the project and miscellaneous aspects that come with this, including obtaining, appointing and then managing costs for general suppliers, temporary office suppliers, security and site consumables. As part of my commercial role in the management of subcontractors, I will issue cost information to the Project Commercial Lead, and this will inform the project forecast reporting and overall financial performance of the project.

What do you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
I enjoy the variety that comes with my apprenticeship on a day-to-day basis. No two days are ever the same! I am given responsibility in my role yet am supported by others as required. I enjoy meeting other apprentices throughout my studies, sharing our experiences and helping to better each other academically.

What are your future goals upon completion of your apprenticeship?
One of my future goals upon completion of my apprenticeship is to complete and obtain membership to the RICS, through the APC route. Another of my future goals is to commercial lead my own construction project from the start to a successful conclusion.

What skills do you need to fulfil your role and apprenticeship?
Through my experience of being an apprentice I have found the most important skills needed to fulfil my role are an eagerness towards learning and developing. I have found that being able to learn from every interaction with people has helped my development.

What made you want to start an apprenticeship?
I have family and friends in the construction industry who I turned to for advice before I left school, and they all recommended an apprenticeship route as I would be able to obtain both academic qualifications and relevant workplace experience. I also understand the way I learn best and how valuable the experience of being present on site can be.

What was your background before starting your apprenticeship?
I started my apprenticeship at 16 years of age directly from secondary school. I had completed work experience in engineering, site management and surveying roles previously at other contractors to help me gain an understanding of what each role consisted of before I decided on what role to commit to.

Natalia Andreeva – Assistant Estimator (Midlands)

What does your role involve
I assist the estimators in the preparation of the financial element of the bid. That involves undertake a range of clerical and administrative duties, collate and extract data from a number of sources in order to produce documents, assist in the data input (quotations) into the estimating software,  liaising with subcontractors, attending internal & external meetings.

What do you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
I am able to learn and earn at the same time.

What are your future goals upon completion of your apprenticeship?
On my completion of HNC, I would like to progress onto NSc Quantity Surveying Degree apprenticeship.

What skills do you need to fulfil your role and apprenticeship?
Good maths and analytical skills, attention to details, good communicational skills, desire to learn new things.

What made you want to start an apprenticeship?
I needed a better understand the construction process and apprenticeship programme allows me to work (and take care of my family) and gain the knowledge and skills provided to perform my role.

What was your background before starting your apprenticeship?
I worked as an Office Manager.

Daniel Cummins – Trainee Construction Manager (South)

What does your role involve?
My role involves assisting with health and safety duties, including reviewing Risk Assessment Method Statements (RAMS) and Toolbox Talks (TBTs), as well as conducting Daily Activity Briefings (DABs) and inductions. I am responsible for completing quality assurance (QA) tasks and snagging, leading health and safety pre-starts and progress meetings, and collaborating with the quantity surveyor on evaluations. Additionally, I work closely with the logistics team, leading coordination meetings, taking minutes in various meetings, and using the programme to plan and organise my package’s works.

What do you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
I enjoy the fact that it’s a hands on way of learning, and I get to work with colleagues who are able to push my career and help me with my university work.

What are your future goals upon completion of your apprenticeship?
After my apprenticeship, I will continue to pursuit my role as a future construction manager pushing into a role of project management. In a few years, I would like to run my own smaller project as a senior CM.

What skills do you need to fulfil your role and apprenticeship?
A few key skills I believe are crucial to fulfil this role is to be able to work in a team and have good communication with your day-to-day colleagues, supervisors and operatives on site. As well as this it is beneficial to have a brief knowledge of the role prior to coming onto to site, for example basic construction knowledge, and health and safety awareness. To improve in these skills there are a range of courses to complete. I will continue to do as many courses as possible, applicable to my job role to help me progress to the next stage in my career. It is always a bonus to be a hands-on person, since you will never know when you need to pick up the tools to carry out certain tasks. Finally, the most important thing is to have a willingness to learn more about the industry and my role either at university or on site through my colleagues.

What made you want to start an apprenticeship?
When I finished my A levels in summer 2022 I did not want to go to university, I wanted to go straight into the working world. However, I was unsure subject to home in on. I always thought an apprenticeship was beneficial for me because it could allow me to learn on site as well as at university once a week.

What was your background before starting your apprenticeship?
Before starting my apprenticeship, I was finishing my A levels ready for the long summer ahead. During the summer period I was looking for part time jobs which included hospitality work and labouring. I enjoyed working on a construction site and getting involved with these smaller projects. I knew of Glencar prior to joining because of a few friends who work there. I applied for a management trainee role and interviewed for the role shortly after. In November 2022,  I joined Glencar and begun my management trainee rotation, sitting with 4 different departments: estimating, design, commercial and operations. From this I learned a range of new skills and built my construction knowledge. In August 2023, I chose to continue with the operations team and in September begun a university course.