Thornton wins the Next Steps apprentice competition

A teenager fresh out of school has landed his dream job in the construction industry after winning Next Steps 2012 – a unique competition to find a new building apprentice for Carmarthenshire.
Thornton Boswell, of Felinfoel, Llanelli, has only just picked up his GCSE results from Bryngwyn School, but this week he started work for Llanelli and Gwendraeth-based building firm Lloyd & Gravell Ltd.
Thornton was one of six candidates who have taken part in the competition throughout the summer in a bid to win a fast-track to their chosen career.
And whilst competing against each other for the coveted job, they worked together as a team to complete a project that would benefit the community and leave a lasting legacy.
The 16-year-old said he was ‘over the moon’ to have won the competition, and started his first day of his carpentry apprenticeship on Monday.
“I really didn’t expect to win – I’m really happy,” he said. “Chances like this don’t come around often for young boys like me.”
The winner was announced at a ceremony held on Friday at Parc Y Scarlets.
Next Steps is an annual competition run in partnership by Carmarthenshire County Council, Coleg Sir Gâr and Carmarthenshire Construction Training Association Ltd in association with Lloyd & Gravell Ltd.
It is one of several innovative projects which are designed to encourage people to work towards careers in the construction industry, regardless of their age, gender, or background.
Following a round of interviews and a week of intensive skills training, six candidates are put to work on real building sites where they learn new skills off experienced mentors.
Along the way, they take part in a series of challenges in a bid to win a reward and avoid a forfeit.
This year, Next Steps was supported by Ski Pembrey and Ffos Las Racecourse who put on reward and forfeit experiences.
At Ski Pembrey, the winning team enjoyed free skiing lessons, whilst the others weeded the slopes.
At Ffos Las, the winners enjoyed VIP hospitality whilst the others helped groundsmen replace divots and repair fences after each race.
• For further information, news, interviews and videos of the Next Steps 2012 project, visitwww.nextstepscarmarthenshire.co.uk or www.facebook.com/nextstepscarmarthenshire• For further information about the range of construction training opportunities available visitwww.constructingcarmarthenshiretogether.co.uk

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