Apprentice Scheme

I applied to Fortem as I was finishing my A-levels. I knew I was passionate about marketing, but I was never sure what route to take - whether that be university or an apprenticeship. However, it was during the pandemic that I decided, even though I was a consistent high attainer at school, university would not be the route I was taking and instead I wanted to earn while I learn.

I was very particular about who I wanted to work for during my apprenticeship as I wanted to feel cared for as an apprentice but that there was also plenty of room for growth… and that led me to Fortem! Their values and behaviours were like mine and they took apprentices seriously.

They only continue to go beyond expectations too. You really do feel like you’re part of a community that cares about their employees, to their customers, to the environment. Every team in every branch is full of smart and talented individuals that drive this company forward, while you can always find someone to seek advice from.

I am currently on route to achieve my Level 3 in Marketing and Communications and have done internal courses such as Personal Effectiveness. Fortem also helped me to extend my knowledge further by understanding the wider business to enable me to be better at what I do. With this, I was put on placement days, so I got to travel to London to shadow the Branch Support Manager and shadow other departments such as HR in our head office.

I have achieved so much with Fortem already and I have developed as an individual because of it. It’s amazing to see the extent they go to, to recognise apprentices in the business through networking events and awards. I am very lucky to have a career that I thoroughly enjoy in a highly supportive environment, and I am truly excited for what the future brings with Fortem.

Hello, I’m Luke and I am the Business Admin Apprentice for the Rotherham 4Life academy. Before Fortem, I was studying for my GSCE exams and due to the Covid-19 pandemic I wasn’t sure about where I would be going after school. Then I was introduced to Fortem by my sister who was already working with the company and she sold it hard. While the company Fortem was a new name to me, I learned that they are driven and focused on providing their local communities with the best and most inclusive environment as possible. Their values also stood out most to me, especially “be proud”, knowing that you will be accepted and welcomed no matter who you are.

I spent a lot of time looking into apprenticeships vs college. The fact that you learn while on the job sounded incredible as I could implement my learning into my college work and my actual job role - that is the main reason that I choose to apply for the apprenticeship. Currently I am on route to achieve a Business Administration Level 3 qualification and hopefully beyond.

I have already completed training to become a qualified First aider and Fire marshal. Working with Fortem has increased my confidence and my positivity in general while also allowing me to develop my IT and people skills.

The Academy Team are all very friendly and helpful and every trade, apprentice, member of staff I have met have also been equally as welcoming. I’ve learnt lots and lots in this short time and I have zero doubts that I will be learning more

Kyle Taylor, Management Trainee, left school at 16 and started a plastering Apprenticeship with Fortem at Birmingham on 12th August 2013. Throughout the two years, he collated lots of information through working in different backgrounds, such as routine work (occupied houses), voids and CDM (empty houses that are higher cost works). Kyle also found studying and learning through his mentor beneficial to see from different perspective and develop further knowledge.

Two years later, his apprenticeship was cut short by half a year, as he went onto being a full-time plasterer for six years until September 2020. Throughout his journey, Kyle picked up multiskilling by fitting kitchens, tiling and decorating in voids, as well as his plastering role.

At the start of 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kyle was furloughed. Kyle had a lot of time to reflect on his career path and decided he wanted to push himself further. Therefore, Kyle was successful in joining the Management Trainee scheme in September 2020.

During this time, he believes there has been plenty of support through networking, training, mentoring and his direct sponsor. Kyle believes through the networking events and different placement opportunities in Fortem, he is able to gain new knowledge and build a network of people throughout the business to support him. Kyle has also found training useful to his development, such as ‘Managing Difficult Conversations’, this supported Kyle to understand how to deal with difficult people through their body language and different other communication signals by role-playing. Mentoring has been a key support for Kyle to understand different teams at the start of his Management Trainee scheme and by receiving frequent feedback. Similarly, Kyle has found his director sponsor useful as someone to speak to with lots of knowledge inside and outside his role specifically, such as the transition of being a trade in customers houses most of the time, to being in the office.

Kyle said “Being part of the Fortem family has been a fantastic experience, where everyone you meet is supportive and plenty of opportunities to learn and develop are available. I believe if you always push your limits, you will develop your career immensely with all the support systems Fortem provide”.

I Started as an Apprentice Plumber but was given the opportunity to learn new skills through multiple work streams at the Rotherham branch. I was supported thoroughly through this, even though to start with I was much slower than other trades. Management and my peers knew that in time the new skills would fully develop.

I was given lots of training during my time at Fortem including manual handling, asbestos, tetra, PASMA, Gas renewal (every 5 years), Doing the Basics Brilliantly, Delivering Service Excellence, etc.

When I was a trades man, I was offered to go on many networking events such as family fun days (played football), was invited to the name changing event where we went from Wilmott Dixon Partnerships to Fortem, Cultural Ambassador event, Trade, Apprentice and Trainee of the Year Awards, etc.

After gaining my NVQ in plumbing between 2006-2010, I took further training to become a multiskilled trade in plumbing and gas fitting. I carried out this role from 2010-2019, where I felt it was time to push myself further and became a Management Trainee in 2019.

The people of Fortem have made my career progression a real pleasure and have certainly aided greatly and if it wasn’t for the opportunities that Fortem offers I wouldn’t be where I am today. I do see the people I have built relationships with like family, as it feels that’s how they treat me. They have always been supportive through any part of my career, and even through life when you look at the benefits we get (health cover for example)

Also, being assigned a mentor really helps and I think it’s great that you don’t have to ask for one. The buddy system also for trades is a great idea. I too was a “buddy” for a couple of new starters. It’s great to see that when I was overseeing some apprentices, you got to be heavily involved with their development. It’s amazing the amount of praise and recognition you get as an apprentice through a variety of networking events.