Lancashire Ambassador News
“Don’t wait — grow your own talent or risk being left behind” Lancashire Ambassador, Guy Parker.
As NEET figures make headlines nationally, Lancashire Ambassador and Conlon Construction Chairman Guy Parker is making the case that the construction industry already holds many of the answers because his own company has been living them for years.
Guy’s own career began with a summer work placement on a Conlon site. Today he leads the business as Chairman and last year alone Conlon delivered 1,274 apprentice weeks and 32 work experience weeks across its North West projects — supported by 26 educational activities including six careers fairs, twelve site visits, and seven school assemblies reaching 1,173 students!
“We get inundated with work experience and apprenticeship requests,” Guy explains. “Where we can’t take someone on directly, we route them through our supply chain, who’ve spent years training people up and I’m pleased to say most go on to secure a role.”
That approach now includes degree apprenticeships and T Level placements, with two Quantity Surveying degree apprentices and an Accounting Finance Management Degree Apprentice, both taken on this year, with a construction management degree apprentice search underway for early next year.
Guy points to a recent University of Lancashire Spark event as a turning point in how he thinks about the pipeline: “A-Level students told us directly they didn’t want to saddle themselves with debt, they wanted to earn while they learn.”
For Guy, this isn’t just good citizenship — it’s succession planning. “Apprentices help take the business forward. We believe growing our own talent is the only way to protect our future,” he says. “My advice to any SME still sitting on the fence: don’t wait, or you may not survive. Construction has an ageing workforce and recruiting young blood is essential just to keep the industry operational.”
He’s equally clear that the barriers facing young people today are as much about confidence as qualifications. “We’ve had feedback from young learners who found it genuinely difficult to talk like a professional on the phone, some would only pick up in an emergency. An apprenticeship, with strong mentoring built in, helps close that gap.”
Conlon’s long association with Preston Vocational Centre, where one of the SMT formerly served as a board member, remains a cornerstone of that pipeline, alongside partnerships with trusted subcontractors who deliver trades training on the company’s behalf.
Guy’s message to policymakers and educators is direct – treat T Levels and apprenticeships as equal to academic routes, not a fallback, fund meaningful work placements and bring construction properly back into school careers guidance.
“There’s still stigma among some parents and teachers,” he says. “We need to make the opportunities sound as exciting as they actually are because the industry is moving towards green retrofitting, smart construction and modern methods that appeal to a tech-aware generation. A lot of these jobs haven’t even been invented yet.”
Guy Parker is Chairman of Conlon Construction and a Lancashire Ambassador.