Bricklaying Course Cements Employability Pathway for Niall

Level 2 Traineeship in Bricklaying student Niall Kelly (17, from Kircubbin) is laying the foundation of his future career while studying at SERC. 

Niall completed his GCSEs at St Columba’s College, Portaferry, before studying at SERC. Niall always wanted to go into a trade, and after attending a SERC Newtownards Campus open evening, seeing the facilities and talking to the tutors, he realised studying bricklaying at SERC was the pathway for him.  

Niall comments, “I love the days in the workshop in which we get to do a simulated placement. It involves learning the basics of bricklaying and then putting what we learn into practice by building brick pillars and walls. We also learn a lot in classrooms, we cover topics such as health and safety in the workplace, how to work with others effectively, how to handle tools properly and how to ensure all the work you are doing is of the best standard possible.” 

“After my course, I want to go on and do an apprenticeship in bricklaying at SERC, before moving to Australia and working there for a few years. Longterm I would like to own my own bricklaying business in Northern Ireland, and this course is a great starting step towards that.” 

Niall concluded, “I would recommend my course to anyone looking to study bricklaying, you learn a lot in the workshop days and the tutors are more than willing to help you whenever you need a question answered or something explained in more detail.”