Student Spotlight: Elizabeth Allingham. Bricklaying student at Torc College

We’d like you to meet Elizabeth Allingham who is a Level 1 bricklaying student at Torc College.  The work Elizabeth has been creating has caused a stir on LinkedIn with college staff and bricklaying professionals.

We wanted to share the work that Elizabeth is doing towards creating her career as a professional bricklayer, so we have recently been in touch to do a Q&A.

Why did you choose South Staffordshire College to study your course / apprenticeship?

I chose South Staffordshire College because it was the most accessible to me. As well as this, I went to visit Torc campus before I enrolled, and this allowed me to see the college and meet some of the staff. It seemed like a great place to complete the learning I need for when I start my career in a few years. It had a large workshop for all the brickwork and separate classrooms for any theory work that we do. South Staffordshire College was always my first choice as it seemed like the right place for me with the best bricklaying course out of the other colleges that I was considering. I’m glad to say that I was right, and I am absolutely loving my course and all the experiences at the college.

Why did you pick the course / apprenticeship that you are studying?

Even though I have not come from a family in the construction industry, I’ve always had a passion for it since I was young, from watching road construction workers tarmac the road, helping my dad with the IKEA furniture, and watching houses fly up around me in our new home on a Redrow site. In secondary school, when Covid-19 started and we had to learn from home, it was clear to me that that was something that I didn’t want to do for the rest of my life – sitting inside, working on a computer, at a desk with a notepad and pen – I wanted to do something practical, outside with a group of workmates that I could have a laugh with whilst working and to me, a career in bricklaying matches that completely!

As well as wanting a practical career, I always liked the idea of building something that was going to be a place for families to create memories in, a place where people would get together for celebrations and even just returning to after a day at work. Along with this, it will be something that will last for, hopefully, hundreds of years. This means that when I start my own family, I can go around the country, showing them all the houses I have built/worked on, and then, they can show their own families etc. and it will be something that I am extremely proud to show off and tell people about.

In Secondary school, I also completed 5 years of Resistant Materials (woodwork and metalwork). Whilst completing this, it made it even more clear to me that doing something practical with my hands was what I wanted with my life. After the 5 years, I achieved a grade 9 (the highest GCSE grade possible) which I think proves that I enjoyed that subject and will continue to love it the rest of my life.

What do you like the best about the college?

Something that is outstanding about the college is the tutors. I have learnt everything I know from mine – John Latham – and without him I wouldn’t be where I am at the minute. All the tutors at Torc have a clear passion for what they do which makes all the classes much more fun to be apart of.

John is an amazing tutor because it is so clear to see that being a bricklayer is something that he loves. The fact that he enjoys what he does makes him an even better tutor because it is so much easier to learn from someone when they enjoy doing it. Not only does he love laying bricks, but he is also amazing at it. The standard of the brickwork that he does is outstanding – he has the quality, as well as the quantity. He works so quickly, and he can lay a single course in seconds. It’s amazing to see him work and I’m very lucky that I get to learn from John as teaching comes as second nature to him.

As well as this when I come to college to work on my next project, I don’t feel like it is something that I have to do because I signed up for the course, instead, it is something that I enjoy and therefore, it isn’t just ‘a day at college’, it’s a day that I’m going in to work on my brickwork and get as much practice as I possibly can before I start on site with a company, building homes for hundreds of families and I love it.

Who is your tutor at college?

My Tutor is John Latham.

What do you think of the support you have received from your tutor / the college?

The support I have received at the college is amazing. I have been given so many opportunities that include becoming the first student Digital Champion as well as the Course Representative and Campus Representative. There is also plenty of help available within class and if I ever find I am struggling with my work, I am given any assistance that I need.

As well as the support within my course, I feel that if there was something that I was struggling with outside of college and I needed some help or even just someone to talk to, I know that I could go directly to my tutor, and he would help as much as he could or direct me to someone that could help.

It is reinforced daily that help is available for all students if it comes to a point where we need it. Personally, I would feel comfortable speaking to someone at the college as I know it is a safe environment and all staff at Torc are friendly and helpful.

What is your proudest moment or thing you have achieved at college to date?

Throughout the couple of months I have been attending college, I have had many proud moments, but I would say that my proudest moment is when my parents and sisters came to look at the work that I had been doing. The looks on their faces when they saw my work for the first time showed me how much they were chuffed with it and happy that I was clearly enjoying myself. As well as the looks, all the comments that they made were amazing and that made me even more proud of the work that I am producing. All of the support I receive from the entirety of my family is incredible and hugely appreciated.

As well as comments from my family, I also receive a lot from my tutor and other students that are learning bricklaying – not only from my class, but students from the Level 2 course. I am told that I’m almost as good as some of the Level 2 students. The project that I am currently working on is a Level 3 decorative panel with a buttress, so I’m currently trying to prove it.

I also received over 250 comments and 147,000 views on a post I made on my LinkedIn account on the 22nd of October. These comments came from current bricklayers, Construction managers, Senior Building Inspectors and many more. All the comments were positive feedback about my first corner I ever built. This made me proud of my work because if they all think that it is good, along with John and my family, then it must be good.

What are your career aspirations after college?

I would like to become a fully qualified bricklayer, building houses for a company such as Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments etc. Maybe later in the future, I might become a site manager, but I’ll have to see. However, for the time being, I am fully focused on becoming a bricklayer.

I would love to get a bricklaying apprenticeship whilst still being able to study at South Staffordshire College before I complete all my learning. This is so that I can gain some experience on site before jumping into the career whilst still learning the basics of bricklaying at a college I am absolutely loving.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying your course / apprenticeship at South Staffordshire College?

Some advice I would give someone who was considering studying bricklaying at South Staffordshire College is to watch videos of bricklayers laying bricks. Before I enrolled at the college, I watched a lot of videos of bricklaying one after the other – I still do. Watching these videos helped me understand a little bit about the trade and if I thought I would enjoy it, and I was right, signing up for this course has been the best thing I have ever done.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your experience at South Staffordshire College that our questions haven’t allowed you to tell us?

Being at this college has created so many opportunities for me, it has also allowed me to start something that I want to do with my life rather than studying a selection of subjects that I wasn’t interested in – with a couple of exceptions – and for that, I feel very grateful.