Hartlepool apprentice Liam is building a good future

Liam Hanson is proof of how apprenticeships can make all the difference.
Liam Hanson who is winning praise for his shining example as an apprentice.Liam Hanson who is winning praise for his shining example as an apprentice.
Liam Hanson who is winning praise for his shining example as an apprentice.

The 21-year-old is one of the leading lights to come through Hartlepool College of Further Education. He left Wellfield Comprehensive School in 2010 with a handful of GCSEs but having seen his dad and both grandads work in the construction sector, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

He studied a BTEC Level 3 in Construction & Built Environment at the college.

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In the last year of his course, he found out about a Hartlepool Borough Council apprenticeship scheme in civil engineering, went for an interview and was offered the job half an hour later. He said he remembered “telling them how much I wanted the job, and how important it was to me.”

First, he worked with the street lighting team, then customer services and is now earning more than £1,000 a month.

Liam will complete his apprenticeship in December, but has opted to take on a two-year extension to take him to a higher level.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, the leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “The council places a very high importance on its apprenticeship programme and at any one time we can have up to 60 apprentices working in a range of disciplines across the council.

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“Liam is a shining example of the progression that young people can make and he is our first apprentice to progress to a Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND).

“The contribution that our apprentices make should not be under-estimated and many have gone on over the years to gain employment with the council and other employers.”