When Vic Grimes stepped down from running the National Apprenticeship Service at the Skills Funding Agency in March, he was looking forward to taking a long and well-earned break.

After nearly 30 years in harness, the last 20 in senior roles creating and managing high quality apprenticeships and vocational training opportunities , it was time to travel a bit, take care of those odd jobs round the home in Bexleyheath and spend plenty of time pursuing his passion, the leisurely art of fishing. He was sure he could beat his record catch - an 18lb salmon landed a few years ago from...

Andy has taken over the post from Rod Bennion, Chairman of McNicholas and Mabey Group who was Chairman of the Trust for 12 years and on the board for 14.

Andy is the fourth generation of the family to play an active role in the boardroom of Wates Group, one of the largest construction companies in the country, established in 1897. Andy joined the Wates Group in 1995 after spending six years with Costain Construction and John Shreeves & Partners. With an MBA from Roffey Park Business School, he rose to become Managing Director of Wates Interiors, and was appointed to the Wates...

He is now a full-time Maintenance Assistant at The Building Centre, where the Construction Youth Trust head office is based!

Luke took part in two Multi-Skills construction courses with our London team in Hackney and Southwark as part of our Budding Builders programme. Through these OCN accredited courses he went on two site visits with Anglo Holt in Hackney and Lend Lease at One the Elephant which gave him a real insight into health and safety and what it is like to work on a construction site.

After finishing the final course, Trust staff remained in contact with Luke...

Wendy is based within the London team as Training Development Officer, working to support young people through our Budding Builders programme and into employment in construction.

Since 2009, Wendy has been engaged in the development and delivery of Construction Training Programmes, driving the curriculum and quality assurance to award-winning status with Liverpool Habitat for Humanity and Blackburne House in Liverpool. She believes a supportive, disciplined and individually structured learning environment can encourage a student to make discoveries, both intrinsic and extrinsic,...

His departure, which was formerly announced last year, follows a period of remarkable growth in influence and reach for the charity. He handed over to new chairman Andy Wates of the Wates group at his final board meeting last month.

Rod’s period as Chairman has seen the Trust transformed into one of the construction industry’s most effective recruiting vehicles, providing career pathways for thousands of disadvantaged young people and raising the profile of the sector.

Numerous senior industry figures have paid tribute to Rod’s successful steering of the...

The awards, now in its eighth year provides a showcase for the brightest and the best female achievers in the housebuilding and wider construction industries.

The awards were held at The Lancashire County Cricket Club where guests enjoyed a champagne reception, three course dinner and after party once award winners were announced.

The Trust’s brand new corporate video was played on the night and an auction and raffle was held with proceedings donated to the Trust.

Our North West Manager Stuart Hamilton attended the event to receive the giant cheque presented...

The salon based on Store Street near the Trust’s London office provided treatments for customers at a reduced price with 80% of the earnings raised donated to the Trust.

Customers could give a £5 minimum donation for a file and polish and £10 for a wash and blow dry. The evening saw existing and new clients turn up for the event and the evening was a real success raising almost £100 for the Trust. We would like to thank all the staff for their hard work and nominating us as their chosen charity.

We look forward to working with Decadence hair and...

As we come to the end of another hugely successful year for the Trust, we turn our focus toward the opportunities that the New Year brings. 2014 will see a huge number of infrastructure programmes enter the next phase and Construction Youth Trust will continue to champion these exciting projects locally and nationally. Crossrail, Mersey Gateway, Hinkley Point, Thames Tideway Tunnel and of course HS2 to name a few – these are big, bold and occasionally controversial projects which, if done right, represent an opportunity to engage a whole generation of young people with construction;...

Following the release of the Government's Construction 2025 document, Executive Director Christine Townley gives her views on how the sector can place people at the heart of growth.

I was encouraged by the focus on people in Construction 2025 – the Government’s Industrial Strategy - the sector is rich with talent, and ambitions for growth require that talent be recognised and nurtured early on to enable the British Construction Industry to realise the government’s vision.

In many ways, the sector is at a crossroads. It is clear that there is a real...

Executive Director Christine Townley asks how we can work with the social housing sector to address the problem of youth unemployment

At a recent dinner held by the Trust I took the opportunity to discuss the role of the social housing sector in tackling the issues of youth training and employment with prominent members of the social housing sector. It was a chance for me to draw on the experience and expertise of this select group of leaders from across the sector and for them to debate the challenges and best practice in tackling unemployment in some of the UK’s most...