News

Mar 6, 2019

Apprenticeships at Woofenden are Working for Everyone

It’s National Apprenticeship Week, so we thought we’d tell you a bit more about what it’s like working as an apprentice for Woofenden, or our sister company, Arcken.


We know how important it is to get that first step onto the careers ladder, so we invest in training the next generation by helping them develop their skills through apprenticeships. We’re always looking for young people interested in a wide range of trades. We’re less interested in your exam results and care more about your attitude and enthusiasm. You can watch a video of one of our current apprentices, Sam who works for our Sister Company, Arcken Ltd, talking about his day, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE1tSjQ8f74

In our friendly, family-run companies (Woofenden and Arcken), we offer structured and secure work, with paid holidays and plenty of ongoing support. Woofenden Construction offers all apprenticeships within construction and Arcken offer both electrical & plumbing apprenticeships.  What do we get out of it? Well, we’re a business that’s continuing to grow, so we hope that you’ll decide to stay with us when your apprenticeship is finished, after which we’ll help you to further your career and encourage your ambitions.

One of our project managers, Ethan, started his career as an apprentice carpenter at Woofenden, joining the team back in September 2006. After completing a 3-year programme at Exeter College, he continued to work at Woofenden on a range of interesting restoration and conversion projects. As the business has grown, Ethan progressed to a supervisory role and then to project management. He now works on the larger and more bespoke refurbishments, conversions and new build projects. Ethan says, “I was pretty ambitious back in 2006, but I never dreamed I’d be running my own large-scale projects. I’m currently working on Oakhay Court – a big conversion of historic barns near Exeter. I’ve learned a lot since I started my apprenticeship and Woofenden continue to help me develop my career with additional training.” Ethan’s now working towards becoming a Chartered Construction Manager with the CIOB.

If all this sounds like your sort of thing, then we’d love to hear from you. Email your CV to info@woodenden.com with a bit about you, the sort of apprenticeship you’d be interested in, and why you’d like to work for Woofenden. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.