Abraham Adeniyi has engineered a situation where he is being paid to study for a degree.
The 21-year-old from Croydon has secured a five-year civil engineering degree apprenticeship with Bellway, joining the housebuilder’s South London division in September 2024 as an apprentice engineer.
“Being given the chance to take on this apprenticeship is the best thing that could have happened to me,” said Abraham. “While some of my friends will graduate from university with significant debt and uncertain job prospects, I’m fortunate to be working towards a degree while getting paid and with a job secured at the end of my course.
“I am earning while I am learning and I think it’s great. I have always been a hands-on type of person who would much rather be out of the classroom or lecture hall than in it, so this route to gaining a degree definitely suits me.”
Abraham left school with A levels in maths, business and information technology, without having a clear direction to take in starting his career. After working as a customer assistant at Ikea and events co-ordinator at the BOXPARK entertainment complex, and a brief stint at university, he applied for the apprenticeship post with Bellway.
“After having taken time to think, I realised that what I really wanted was to study for a degree in civil engineering but to do it as an apprentice rather than be saddled with a student loan,” he said. “I had always worked after school, always had a bit of money, so that was the way I wanted to go. Luckily, I got the position at Bellway.
“I am based at Bellway’s South London headquarters in Redhill in Surrey with the technical team. I work four days a week in the office and have one day where I study from home with online work from Teesside University.
“In the office I sit next to the Engineering Manager Steve Catt, who acts as my work mentor. He is very knowledgeable and is incredibly receptive which gives me the confidence to ask him questions and to seek reassurance on any work I am doing.”
Abraham said he had been liaising closely with the land team and was looking forward to being seconded to other departments in the future.
He said: “It all begins with the land team who identify, research and buy the plots that are used to build the homes. I really enjoyed learning more about their role and am keen to spend time in other disciplines as part of my overall training.
“I have already assisted with the delivery of technical information for current developments by examining CCTV of a drainage system to identify the problem and to find a solution. I studied the footage and had to edit the original drawings to ensure the relevant departments were aware of the changes. On another development I had to lead on the contact with Thames Water to ensure that they adopted the drainage system.
“My goal is to get my degree then go on to become a chartered engineer. I believe that Bellway is the right place for me to achieve this ambition as the level of support, quality of training and pastoral care is second to none.”
Rob Sapsford, Managing Director at Bellway South London, said: “Abraham has been given the chance to get a degree in engineering and he is grabbing that opportunity with both hands. He has come straight into work-placed learning as opposed to taking the university pathway and it seems to suit him down to the ground.
“He is incredibly keen to learn and his diligence and attention to detail are essential in the role that he is embarking on. At Bellway we offer a wide range of opportunities for apprentices and it is great to see Abraham learning new skills and enjoying training as he starts to shape an exciting career for himself in this dynamic industry.”
