Laying foundations for partnership with college

The Suffolk region has donated 10,000 bricks – enough to build a three-bedroom house – to a college in Bury St Edmunds.

The bricklaying students at West Suffolk College, part of the Eastern Education Group, took delivery of the bricks ahead of National Apprenticeship Week and are already getting to work building with the new supply. 

Kelvin O’Heath-Dwyer, Head of Construction for Persimmon Homes Suffolk, visited the college to see the work the students are doing and said: “Previously the students were reusing bricks but having fresh new bricks allows them to get a cleaner finisher and gives them greater pride in their work. 

“As a five-star housebuilder we are keen to develop relationships with colleges and offer that link to industry, we want to support the students because they are the next generation of housebuilders.” 

Impressed with their work, Kelvin offered guidance on future career paths and highlighted the value of apprenticeships as a next step. He said he would like to see some of the students working on one of Persimmon Homes’ sites locally in years to come. 

Shane Langthorne is a Group Deputy Principal for Eastern Education Group, overseeing all activities related to construction. Shane said: “We are incredibly grateful to Persimmon for this incredible donation of 10,000 bricks. It’s a fantastic gesture that will enable our students to be able to work with top quality products as they hone their skills on the way to becoming bricklaying superstars of the future. 

“We were recognised by the Government last year as being a Construction Training Excellence Centre (CTEC), and this donation from Persimmon will help us solidify our reputation of being an outstanding training centre with amazing business links and we look forward to continuing to work with them again in the future.” 

Level 2 Bricklaying student Lola Fisher said: “It makes a real difference to us having fresh bricks to work with means we can do a more professional job, this will help in our assessments. 

“I am really hoping to secure an apprenticeship this summer after completing my course and building a career for myself as a bricklayer.”  

We will continue working with West Suffolk College with further projects planned after National Apprenticeship Week, which runs until Sunday, February 16.