Higher Level Apprenticeship in Construction Helps Andy Build his Career

Deciding to return to education and learn new skills on the Higher-Level Apprenticeship in Construction and the Built Environment (Building Services Engineering) has put former SERC student Andy Dealy en route to job progression.

Andy (38), from Belfast, says, “I am currently employed as an estates operations manager at the Northern Ireland Hospice, and within my role, I manage a small team and also the day-to-day mechanical & engineering and health & safety compliance for the hospital estate. This involves supporting a Head of Estates with the estates strategy, capital projects, and all other operational requirements.

“Having been a student at SERC Bangor previously, to complete an HNC in 2010/11, I had a really positive experience and knew that I wanted to return to do a course that was directly linked to my career. The apprenticeship route appealed to me because I wanted to gain technical knowledge related to my job role that would help me progress, so I applied for the part time HLA in Construction and the Built Environment (Building Services Engineering).”

He continues, “At first, I felt nervous about returning to college after a long break, but when I arrived, received my induction, and started to get to know the tutors and other students, I quickly settled in. The support I received from both the tutors and the students helped me to gain confidence, share my ideas and work experiences, and support others in the class. I particularly enjoyed attending Tuesday night classes with our tutor Neil as he was great craic, took his time ensuring that everyone was at the same level and nobody was falling behind, and that everyone had all the information and support to get through the classes.”

Of the highlights of the HLA, Andy says, “I really enjoyed the course content across all the various modules, but one that stands out to me is the individual project which I completed in final year. This module allowed me to use all my newly acquired knowledge and apply it to a project starting from the concept stage to the completion stage.

“Another part of the course I enjoyed was the opportunity to work in a technical role while studying a related qualification. This was extremely helpful for me to transfer my skills and knowledge into the daily practice within my workplace; and enabled me to integrate work projects and technical problems into my assignments.

“Being supported by my employer through my qualification was extremely helpful, as I was given allocated time during my work week to study and write up assignments. This helped to ease the burden of having to complete this at home while also being a parent to my two children.”

Andy concludes, “My overall experience while studying the HLA at SERC was extremely positive and I really enjoyed meeting new people from all backgrounds, learning from experienced tutors, and having some fun along the way.

“I would absolutely recommend SERC for others to learn, gain new knowledge, skills, and a qualification. You will meet new people along the way, have some craic whilst you learn and better your career prospects going forward. In the future, I hope to continue my studies and complete the HNC Construction course, eventually progressing onto completing a degree in the same discipline.”