Bowmer and Kirkland Degree Apprenticeship Presentation

It was a pleasure to welcome representatives from Bowmer and Kirkland to Durham Sixth Form recently to speak to our Year 13 students about the degree apprenticeship opportunities on offer this year and how to apply for them. Year 13 students from business, marketing and economics were able to listen to Bowmer and Kirkland’s Social Value Manager, Laura Brown, who gave an overview of the company, which has offices across the UK and in the US, employing over 1450 people.

Two of the three apprentices attending with Laura were alumni of Durham Sixth Form Centre; Will Baines, a second year quantity surveying apprentice working on the Boldon House, Durham refurbishment and Ami Alderson, a first year quantity surveying apprentice working on Castle Leazes in Newcastle. Will, Ami and Nathan were all very positive about the benefits of a degree apprenticeship compared to studying full-time at university. They are enjoying working on site on large-scale projects four days a week and combining this with studying one day a week either online or face to face at university. Degree apprenticeships do of course require a high level of dedication and hard work juggling full-time work with studying but Bowmer and Kirkland offers an excellent programme of support as well as a generous remuneration package which is regularly reviewed. The apprentices were all enthusiastic about the variety in their day-to-day roles and being based on the site they are working on. They were able to talk about the important qualities required to be successful in applying for a degree apprenticeship with Bowmer and Kirkland, including time management, resilience, risk taking, initiative, team work, communication and a desire to grow and develop. The company is also looking for well-rounded students who can demonstrate interests outside of their sixth form studies, which will make them stand out from the other applicants.

Our apprenticeship specialist, Katherine Hasselby, will be working closely with Year 13 students who are focused on obtaining an apprenticeship in the coming months to assist them with their applications. Thank you to the team from Bowmer and Kirkland for sharing their knowledge and experiences so far on the degree apprenticeship programme.