The regional building contractor, which is headquartered on Ransomes Europark in Ipswich first introduced its own Management Trainee programme in 1979, just one year after it started trading.
Since then, 97 young people from local Suffolk schools have joined as management trainees, with half of them still working at the company today. 19 are currently in training, rotating across each department, gaining site and office experience and working towards their BSc (Hons) degrees.
29 now hold management and senior roles, including three who are currently directors. The first management trainee was Chris Bruce who was taken on in 1979 from Chantry High School. He went on to become Pre-Contracts Divisional Director, before stepping back as a director earlier this year.
Applications are now open for this year’s cohort and from these, the 100th management trainee will be appointed.
Divisional Surveying Director, Simon Severwright, oversees the programme on behalf of Barnes and was himself recruited as a management trainee in 1997 from Thurleston High School in Ipswich.
He is a keen advocate for taking this route to get a first step on the career ladder and said, “You don’t need to have any prior knowledge or experience of the construction industry to become one of our management trainees. We are on the lookout for applicants who are ambitious, have strong GCSE results and either have or expect to achieve good A level results or equivalent vocational qualifications.
“There is a huge variety of managerial roles in construction, office or site based, technical or commercial. It normally takes around four years to complete the training scheme, and successful trainees will get to spend time in each of the different departments of the business, while they work towards their BSc (Hons) degree.”
Closing date for applications is Friday 1st May. For further information or to apply, please email: recruitment@barnesconstruction.co.uk.
Main photo taken by Simply C Photography and shows: Simon Severwright and Matthew McLaughlin, Chief Surveyor at Barnes (centre left and right), with some of the management trainees.
