A day in the life of an apprentice at Manor Road Quarter
08.08.23 3 min read
Visitors to Canning Town will see how the Manor Road Quarter neighbourhood is reshaping the look and feel of this part of Newham – but what they may not realise is that it’s already having a significant impact on the shape and growth of many young people’s careers.
To shine a light on the opportunities that are being created, we spent a day with Christabel Adjei, an Apprentice Site Manager. In the below video, we learn how she got involved in the construction industry and discuss the employment benefits that are already being felt within the local community.
A collaboration that’s crafting careers
Thanks to a partnership between ECF – a partnership between Muse, Homes England and Legal & General – and Morgan Sindall, we’ve been providing apprenticeships, establishing jobs and engaging with the area’s residents since day one to ensure that the development adds value where it is needed most.
To date, this commitment to supporting sustainable careers has seen 352 new job vacancies created for people who were previously unemployed or were employed specifically for the Manor Road project, of which the vast majority were secured by Newham residents. In addition, five students are employed at Manor Road full time, 36 apprentices have been appointed and as of July, 9% of the 615 operatives onsite are from the local borough.
As Elizabeth Wright, Senior Development Manager at ECF, explained:
An introduction to the industry
Christabel started as a Business Administration apprentice, but as soon as she was exposed to the operational side of construction, she knew that this was the area she wanted to work in. To help further her understanding of this role, Manor Road Quarter’s apprentice and now Junior Engineer, Ethan O’Brien, took Christabel on a tour of Newham’s latest residential development.
In this video, Ethan describes the value he experienced when undertaking the apprenticeship, as it gave him “a chance to broaden my horizons, and the best part about being here is that I don’t have to worry about working around my study as it’s all encompassed into one.”
Click the video to find out more about Christabel’s journey as well as the benefits that Manor Road Quarter will provide thanks to the 804 highly sustainable new family homes, 50% of which will be affordable, that it will deliver for this part of East London.