A FORMER apprentice is living out his dream by helping to oversee a major Wokingham housing development.
Sam Sawyers, 22, spent a lot of his childhood tagging along with his father, who was a bricklayer, wherever possible.
He is now assistant site manager at Vistry’s Shinfield Meadows estate, following in the footsteps of his father, Mark Allen, a build director for the company.
Sam said: “I would mainly sit in the van or maybe sometimes be allowed to lay a brick.
“It was this that was the main thing that made me want to get into the trade as I can remember looking at my dad and the people he was working with while sitting in the van and just wanting to be there doing what they were doing and having the fun they seemed to be having while working.
“That’s when it clicked in my mind, I thought working on a building site – that’s what I want to do. I’ve never been interested in sitting at a desk.”
Sam, who lives in Wantage and grew up in Leicester, started his career working alongside bricklayers as a hod carrier, also carrying out labouring work for an agency.
While working on these jobs, he was inspired by watching the site manager leading the team and ensuring tasks were completed efficiently, something Sam was keen to try his hand at.
He went on to approach Vistry about enrolling on an apprenticeship, and the fact he was already working at the company location worked in his favour.
Sam explained: “If they can already see you working hard, they know you’ll work hard on the apprenticeship.”
He began his programme in June 2021 and learned about different aspects of construction including groundwork, scaffolding, bricklaying and carpentry, as well as the administrative side, including regulations and health and safety procedures.
While balancing his Higher National Certificate studies, Sam has successfully stood in for his site manager when he was on annual leave for two weeks.
He said: “My dad has always taught me to keep calm and collected. The thing he says is if you’re ever panicking, take 10 seconds and carry on after that.
“If I’m finding a problem I can’t get around, I always stop and take 10 seconds to think about it.”
His considered approach ultimately led to a promotion to assistant site manager last autumn.
