Tuesday, 3 March 2015

200,00 new homes is great Mr Cameron but who is going to build them?

200,00 new homes is great Mr Cameron but who is going to build them?

In the run up to National Apprenticeship Week (March 9th-13th), the boss of a Derby building firm welcomes yesterday’s (March 2nd) pledge by the Tory leader to build 200,000 new homes for first time buyers. However, he also claims that without a more holistic approach to apprenticeships, we cannot hope to have the skills to build them.

Ian Hodgkinson, managing director of Hodgkinson Builders on Pride Park, who employs over 100 bricklayers said:

“There were two announcements yesterday which I found frustrating and hugely encouraging. Firstly, David Cameron’s pledge will be welcomed by those of us in the trade as it means jobs and growth. However, I really do worry that we haven’t go the required skills-base in this country’s labour force to deliver these projects - it’s a legacy from the recession.

“During the downturn, instead of putting out fires, we should have been preparing for the upturn. The Government should have been investing in training young people in readiness for the market picking up again - just as Mr Cameron is now promising with these houses.”
“However, at the same time, I echo yesterday’s announcement by the British Chambers of Commerce, who published the BCC Workforce Survey, Developing the Talents of the Next Generation.

“This noted that ‘57% of employers cite a lack of soft skills such as communication, resilience and team working, as the main reason why young people are unprepared for the world of work.”

“This is just as much an issue in construction as it is across the UK labour force. If we are to develop the stars of the future for our industry it isn’t just about the ability to lay bricks or erect scaffolding. There are softer skills that need to be mastered, be they punctuality, courtesy, confidence or even driving. It is little use hiring young apprentices if they can’t get to site and even worse when they don’t necessarily see the impact that tardiness or a perceived lack of respect can have on their employer and ultimately, their career.

“I’m sure this will be the case across many industries but I will concentrate on my own and to that end, I am already exploring the possibilities of linking up with education providers to create a holistic approach to training apprentices.

“There is a real opportunity to be grasped, let’s just hope our future stars can take advantage of it.”

Monday, 9 February 2015

We are looking for a fit out partner

Hodgkinson Builders are looking for a fit out partner to work with on our Housing developments. We build strong relationships with our supply chain if you are successful you and your company can look forward to continued repeated work and contracts. Hodgkinson's are very good bricklayers and we will build the shell to the house, our idea partner will fit it out inc, Joinery plastering, electrics, plumbing, kitchens and bathrooms. If you are interested please contact me, This is for the East Midlands.

Friday, 30 January 2015

Hodgkinson

Hodgkinson Builders have been based at Pride Park for over 8 years having been established since the early 1990's. We are unique in what we do and probadly the best experienced Brickwork and Building Contractor in our field of expertise in the UK.

Suppling around 150 tradional tradesmen building schools, offices, industrial units, houses, shopping centers.

Specialties: Building, Construction, Brickwork, Stone work, traditional skills, Developments, apprenterships, work experience.

Hodgkinson supply complete package solutions to meet the most demanding building requirements,

We have Supply and fix packages to labour only and labour supply

TV work we have done includes Homes under the Hammer, ITV News, Chrissy B Show, News At 10, Sky News, Diy Make over shows, BBC DIY SOS, Celebrity DIY Home Front in The Garden. And a complete 10 part TV series on SKY Which was Victorian House Project in Liverpool, along with Craig Phillips. I helped Craig renovate the property in to five High Class Apartments. My company supplied the trades and materials to carry out specialist renovation and restoration works.

I have a saying "you have probably been in one of the buildings we have built" Scotland, England, Wales, Iceland, Many many interesting projects all over the UK, Back in Derby, home turf, and in particular Pride Park, I built and project managed the Clough Taylor statue, in memory of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. A "fly on the wall" documentary about the building of the statue was made by Derby County and I was very proud to be involved.

Who would have thought when I left building school i would end up meeting the Queen !! From Bricklayer to meeting the Queen !!! It was at the opening of The Armed Forces memorial in Staffordshire. My company, my expertise, were the reasons we were chosen to build out the structure and stone work on this project. Again filmed as a fly on the wall documentary from start to finish, massive media present, fantastic opportunity for me and my company.

Charity is at our heart and recently carried out a "make over" our own DIYSOS of a community centre for underprivileged kids in Derby. I was helped by 300 strong local cummiunity and trades , a great couple of days, and an awesome achievement in completing the build for the Children. I also champion youngsters and a lot of the work was done by trainees from Derby College Using the media awearness I try and put youngsters forward for work.

I am in many respects an ambassador for apprentices and i am looking to set up my own Building and Bricklaying Acadamy.

All this can be seen on my web site,

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Where do I find Bricklayers and Builders

Are you wondering how you are going to source bricklayers this year,

Then we may have a solution !!!

PLEASE take a few minutes to have a look at our Web Site www.bricklayers.com,

Here at Hodgkinson Bricklaying Contractors we are happy to supply you with Bricklayers in any of the following categories: Price work, Day work, Single bricklayers supplied, or Gangs to help you out on site, Along with Project Management, supervision, with or without Materials.

We deliver on time, on budget with complete safety.....

You will deal with knowledgeable staff, with great attitude and your requirements at heart

www.bricklayers.com

Friday, 10 January 2014

Jobs Home | LinkedIn

Sunday, 22 September 2013

Housing boom brings year of the £40k brickie

Shortages of materials and labour push up prices and lead to delays and rising wages

Bricklayers are in demand and can earn more than£40,000 a year. Photograph: Chris Pancewicz/Alamy

At the beginning of the year, Ian Hodgkinson's main aim was to keep his business alive. But in the last four months he has gone from ticking over to overwhelmed. His bricklaying firm has been inundated with demands as Britain's building industry has begun to boom, boosted by the government's Help to Buy scheme for first-time house buyers.

The scheme, announced in April, has started a chain reaction that has seen the construction industry facing labour and materials shortages that have pushed up prices and lengthened supply delays. Bricklayers can now earn more than £40,000 a year and brick deliveries that were being fulfilled in two days can now take 10 weeks.

Hodgkinson, a director of a Derby-based brickwork contractor, said: "It's gone phenomenal. At the beginning of the year we were scratching around. Now people call and just ask: 'Can you deliver the bricklayers?' Prices are no longer important. For years we have barely survived, we have been paid late, underpaid and not paid at all by contractors. They will now be paying through the nose or getting nothing. I could double my business if I could get the finance."

The property industry is one of the few booming parts of the economy. A report last week from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that house prices were rising at their fastest pace for seven years. The number of estate agents is the highest since records began in 1978 – 562,000 people are employed in real estate in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics, with 77,000 joining the industry over the last year – figures which stoke fears that the country is heading for a house-price bubble.

New orders in the construction sector rose by nearly 20% in the April-June period compared with the previous three months, to show their biggest rise in four years. Annual growth of 32.8% in construction orders was the biggest since 2005.

However, further growth is being held back by a severe shortage of construction workers. Maria Commane, managing director of Sitemasters, a London-based construction recruitment company, said she had never seen demand for labour outstrip supply in her 26 years in the business.

"There are shortages in all areas, from labouring to skilled work. Pay rates are going up across the board. Bricklayers are looking for £19 an hour, which is up from around £15. Workers are negotiating rates upwards all the time," she said.

The main reason for the lack of supply of construction workers is the absence of workers from the European Union, many of whom have returned home or found work in other industries since 2008, and a historic shortage of skilled British workers.

John Kelsey, a lecturer in construction economics at University College London, said: "The problem for the last decade has been that we depend on importing labour to make up shortages here and we no longer have an efficient system for training apprentices."

Builders may have been having difficulties getting their work done, but house prices are already taking off. Between April and June, British house prices rose by 6.8 % while, according to some reports, prices in London rose by 10%. According to the Home Builders Federation, there was a 49% year-on-year increase in the number of planning approvals for new homes between April and June this year. In the first six months of the year, 77,686 permissions were granted, a 26% year-on-year increase. The federation estimated that Britain needs 220,000 homes to be built each year to meet demand.

The rise in the value of property triggered by government-supported easy credit to first-time buyers has begun to ring alarm bells. Adair Turner, the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority, told BBC2'sNewsnight last week that the government could be overdoing stimulus to the housing market, which may cause future problems. "We have had a whacking great hangover after a debt-fuelled housing boom. Our policy seems to focus on a bit of the hair of the dog that bit us," he said.

The building supply industry has also been taken by surprise. David Weeks of Hanson, Britain's biggest brick manufacturer, said his company had invested £500,000 in reviving a brick plant in Claughton, Lancashire, and was recruiting 34 workers for it. "The upturn took us by surprise. We were expecting an improvement towards the end of the year. We then had to be confident that it wasn't just a spike and then we could respond. We have to match capacity to demand. We are meeting demand, but it is now taking eight to 10 weeks to supply orders, as opposed to 48 hours at the beginning of the year," he said.

Ibstock, another brick manufacturer, opened a modernised brickworks in Chesterton, Newscastle-under-Lyme, this month and revived a plant in Ibstock, Leicestershire, to meet demand.

The transformation in the construction industry this year has been dramatic, but it will take some time before pe-2008 levels of activity are achieved. Hodgkinson said he was now employing 50 bricklayers compared with 20 in January – but in 2008 he employed 260.

Weeks said that in 2008 Hanson produced 1.5bn bricks, but last year it made 800 million. "It's still a bit early to be talking about a recovery," he said.

Saturday, 21 September 2013

Work Experience Pays Dividends For College Student

A Construction student from Derby College made such an impression on a local business during his work experience placement that he has now clinched a coveted apprenticeship with the firm.

Ahmed Naseem (21) from Normanton was offered work experience by the College’s placement team with Hodgkinson Builders in Pride Park as part of his level three construction course at the Roundhouse vocational campus.

His contribution on site at Hodgkinson’s contract to refurbish the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham had already been favourably noticed by site management staff. But what really proved his work ethic was when he missed his lift to the site from his home and then paid £50 from his own pocket for a taxi to get him to work.

Company owner Ian Hodgkinson, who regularly offers work placements to Derby College students and currently has one other apprentice working with the 50-strong site teams, explained that this was one of the main reasons for offering Ahmed an apprenticeship with the firm.

Ian, who is a former student of Derby College, said: “We need young people with the right skills and work attitude as there is a real lack of good bricklayers in the jobs market.

“I am therefore a total believer in giving young people a helping hand onto the career ladder through work experience and particularly apprenticeships.

“This young man really proved his worth both on site and especially by using his initiative to get to work on this occasion having missed his lift.

“If everyone who came through the door had the same enthusiasm and work ethic as Ahmed, they would be offered a job here.”

Ahmed joined Derby College from Derby Moor Community School and worked his way up from level 1 to level 3 in Construction.

He said: “I was really grateful to have been given the chance of doing work experience and didn’t want to blow it by not turning up at work having missed my lift so got straight on the phone to book a taxi.

“I am so pleased to now have an apprenticeship and I want to work my way up through the company.

“Working on site as a brickie is a brilliant job and doesn’t feel like work. It is great to see what you have achieved at the end of every day and particularly good to be working on such an important project as the NIA in Birmingham.”

Derby College Work Placement Team Manager Gary Richardson concluded: “Work experience placements are now an integral part of all the College courses but we have been ahead of the game for many years and have solid links with employers in a wide range of industries from childcare to construction to provide students with placements.

“This summer alone, more than 40 students have gained jobs from their work placements and this number is set to grow year on year.”