Site-Ready Course - Complete

We have today completed our Site Ready course with our 14 New Apprentices for 2025 and are happy to confirm they have all been released onto site.

Over a 4-week course here at our Carpentry Academy in Banbury, we have completed core knowledge and competency training to get the apprentices ready for the site environment, including...

• Power Tool Competency Training (CITB Approved)
• Manual handling  (CITB Approved)
• Carpentry basics, including stud work, skirting, internal doors, joists, and roofs
• Face fit tested
• Inductions
• CSCS card tests
• Material and product knowledge
• Crane awareness and basic signalling

A change in structure

With 2024 being our first full apprentice intake, we learnt a lot as a business. 

We used this experience to improve, and this year we made many changes to our recruitment, enrolment, and site-ready course.

Kieron Sear, our Apprenticeship Manager, has offered fresh ideas and a wealth of experience in the teaching field.

One key change we made was reducing the group size for the site-ready course from 1 group of 14 to 2 groups of 7.

Whilst this has taken up a lot more time internally, it has given the apprentices a much better experience and closer teaching during this initial period.

Bridging the skills gap

As the skills gap continues to grow, we will continue to invest in the future of our industry.

Whilst the focus now is on this group of talented future carpenters and how we can support them in their journey.

We will also begin planning for 2026 and make minor tweaks to give us and the industry the best chance of retaining the generational future.

Congratulations to all the apprentices. We're proud of all you've achieved so far and can't wait to see how you all progress.