Loves Farm experience helps veteran to recognition

AFTER 30 years in the building trade, a construction site manager has at last got a formal qualification.

AFTER 30 years in the building trade, a construction site manager has at last got a formal qualification.

While juggling site operations against a backdrop of the economic downturn, Keith Hess was one of six site managers across Redrow Homes’ UK-wide operation to gain a level 4 NVQ in construction site management.

Keith, 51, has worked for Redrow for four years and is currently overseeing the construction of new homes at Loves Farm, the 1,250-home development to the east of the railway in St Neots.

“I’ve worked in the building trade for 30 years but never had a formal construction qualification until now,” he said. I’ve been a site manager for 20 years but had never had the chance to gain qualifications until I joined Redrow. It was a great opportunity to be able to take the NVQ.

Keith, pictured right, and the other site managers were presented with their certificates by Redrow’s group managing director John Tutte, left, at the company’s training centre in Tamworth, before attending a celebratory lunch.

Richard Beadsmoore, Redrow’s training manager, said: “These site managers completed their level 4 NVQ during 2009/10 at a difficult time for the housing market, meaning they were managing site operations with a reduced labour force while completing this qualification in their own time.

“As a company, we are committed to offering ongoing training for our staff in addition to apprenticeships, our graduate training scheme and our assistant site manager training programme.”