Meet the apprentices building Brent Cross Town

There’s a reason why we put holes in construction fences – something is happening behind there, and we all want to see. Curious to find out more about what the process of building Brent Cross Town is like, we spoke to Harry O’Leary and Thomas Desmond about their experiences as apprentices at Galldris, the civil engineering and groundworks company who are building this new town.

Both are at the beginning of five-year apprenticeships, working on the site four days a week and attending university on the fifth. “When our apprenticeships are finished we will be fully qualified,” says O’Leary. “It’s possible we might be at Brent Cross Town for the whole five years because it’s such a big job.”

Every building that goes up at Brent Cross Town over the coming years will offer opportunities to young people to hone their skills through apprenticeship schemes. And Galldris already has a growing programme for teaching specialist technical skills to those starting out in their careers.

Both O’Leary and Desmond began work at Brent Cross Town just as building works started in September of last year. Desmond is 19 and a trainee surveyor. “On an average day for me, I get out the drawings of everything we do and mark up what’s been done,” says Desmond. “We finished drainage for a part of the job a month or two ago, so I was going out marking up how many metres of pipe we put in the ground each day.” This, he explains, helps the senior surveyors keep track of how things are progressing. It’s moving along at a fast clip: for a while, 25 metres of pipe went into the ground every day. 

O’Leary is 18 and a trainee civil engineer. “Every pipe that’s laid has to be checked to make sure it’s the right level. Let’s say there will be a gully going into that pipe – it has to be [marked] so we can remember where it is in the future.” At the moment, guide walls are going up at Brent Cross Town in preparation for piling – O’Leary’s job involves a lot of checking to make sure everything is right, straight and proper before the concrete is poured.

O’Leary is based just outside of London, while Desmond lives closer by in Southgate: “The main thing I knew about Brent Cross before was the big shopping centre. I used to go there with my mum and my brother, as it’s just a 25-minute drive from where I live.” This is an area on the brink of being transformed: “In 10 years’ time, Brent Cross is going to look so different to what it does now. All the new parts of this area are going to be part of this job site,” says O’Leary. “Even just in five years, if we stay here that long, the area will have changed quite a bit.” 

As the UK celebrates National Apprenticeship Week, O’Leary and Desmond both report the process has been smooth: “It was quite stress-free,” says Desmond. But that’s not the case for everyone – the pandemic has made things tougher for employers and O’Leary says a friend who had a similar apprenticeship lined up found it cancelled at the last minute. “Luckily Galldris has the capacity to take on people like Harry and me, and they also have enough time to teach us what we need to know,” says Desmond. “Earlier today I had an hour and a half meeting with my boss, and we didn’t just talk about work. They have plenty of time for us.” 

There’s a lot you can learn behind a laptop screen, but not the rhythms and quirks of a construction site. Some skills can only be gained hands on. When they are finished here, O’Leary and Desmond will have the knowhow to take on to other projects, maybe work abroad if they want. “When you’re at school, you’re often advised to go to university full time,” says O’Leary. “With an apprenticeship, it gives you a lot more experience.” It’s a level of independence that having five years of practice under your belt can bring.