When it comes to commitment to the future, Carpet Style are certainly leading the way. With two floorlaying apprentices completed, three partway through their course, and two more who have just started their apprenticeship, Carpet Style are by ensuring they have skilled fitters to secure future generations of their business.
Director Bradley Chilton says “This is our fourth year of taking on apprentices, and it’s something we’re committed to keeping up. Our teams are employed rather than subcontracted, and we train them ourselves, from apprentice through to time-served fitter. A lot of other companies give their flooring work to subcontractors, which means fewer firms are bringing anyone new into the trade and training them properly.”
And Carpet Style have proved themselves as an excellent employer partner, with Helen Davies, WEBS Training’s floorlaying training co-ordinator saying
“Carpet Style have been brilliant to work with. They are supportive to their apprentices, and they communicate very closely with us to ensure we can get the best result for their apprentices – and they have employed some fantastic apprentices!”
Helen continues “They have jumped onto the idea that the flooring industry needs young people, and that they’re good for the future of the business. And Carpet Style haven’t just talked the talk either, they have been pro-active and have been the ones to make the change and invest in building these skills.”
And it’s full steam ahead – Carpet Style welcomed their newest apprentices earlier this month: Jaya, who has joined the hard flooring team, learning LVT, safety vinyl and subfloor preparation, and Harvey, who has joined the carpet and vinyl team.
Helen adds “it’s really exciting that Carpet Style have taken on a female apprentice for floorlaying – this is the first female floorlaying apprentice we’ve had at WEBS so far. Floorlaying seems to be a little further behind other trades in including women, so kudos to them.”
Ahead of the new recruits attending their first training week at FITA, we asked them how they were feeling.
Harvey says “I was a bit nervous to begin with, but everyone’s been really welcoming and I’m excited to have joined. I’m really looking forward to the future and I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m being taught new things every day, which is exciting.”
Jaya was also nervous but says she’s also had a good start “everyone’s been amazing and made me feel welcome. I’ve learned loads already and I’m really enjoying getting stuck in and being part of the team.”
Previous apprentice, Rowan Byrne, who very recently completed his course in June with a well-deserved Distinction has lots of advice to help them as they progress, saying
“The main thing about learning floor laying is persistence and hard work. Some things seem really complicated when you start off, but the more you do them, the easier they become.
If you keep looking back to when you started, you’ll see the things that were hard will feel easy now. The worst thing you can do is give up. Everyone makes mistakes, even people who’ve been doing it 20 years, so keep working towards a goal, and when you reach it, set a new one. It’s really good work with plenty of opportunities and room to grow, an amazing trade to get into.”
Supportive and helpful, Rowan is demonstrating Carpet Style’s values – and it is great to see qualified apprentices support the newer ones on their apprenticeship journey. A real testament to the hard work that Brad and Ed at Carpet Style have put into their ongoing apprenticeship programme and getting their business growth ready.
And it seems that all the hard work is paying off – Carpet Style have recently announced a new retail shop in Ashby De-La-Zouch, showing that customers really do want fitters and service with a quality they can trust.
“43 years in business this year.” finishes Brad “We’re not slowing down — we’re building for the next 43.”
And with all the skills you’ve developed, we’re sure you will achieve it!
Find out more:
Take on a floorlaying apprentice for your business – Contact Us – Webs Training
Visit the new Carpet Style Store at 70-72 Market Street, Ashby-De-La-Zouch, LE65 1AN or visit their website Carpet Shop Nottingham – Carpet Style
