Linden Homes Shows Pupils At St Peter's Catholic School, Merrow, There's More To A Job...
14 Jul 2015

...In Housebuilding Than Construction Sites And Hard Hats

Housebuilder Linden Homes was on hand to help youngsters looking for careers advice when a group of pupils from St Peter’s Catholic School, in Merrow, visited its Guildford office on Friday.

In the week that Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams triumphed at Wimbledon, staff at Linden Homes’ offices, in Cross Lanes, explained to pupils the company’s involvement in the making of the retractable roof on Centre Court, which was almost put to good use during the men’s final on Sunday.

This was just one of the examples used by land director, Kevin MacKenzie, to explain to the Year 10 students the variety of exciting projects you could end up being involved in by taking up a career in construction.

He said: “Our parent company, Galliford Try, has been involved in a number of projects at Wimbledon, in fact it has delivered 28 major improvements over the past 30 years, which have helped the club retain its reputation as a truly world-class sporting venue.

“Here at Linden Homes – the housebuilding division of Galliford Try - we build around 3,000 homes each year from eco-friendly homes at Graylingwell Park, in Chichester – one of the UK’s largest carbon neutral developments - to executive family houses at Swallowhurst, our flagship scheme in Cranleigh. Each of these projects needs a diverse range of staff to ensure it is delivered to the highest of standards. We need men and women to fill these roles and our training and graduate schemes are a great way to get into the sector.”

During their visit pupils learnt about the different jobs at Linden Homes and Galliford Try, from site managers, surveyors, accountants and land buyers to architects, interior designers and roles in sales and marketing, as well as the training opportunities available.

They were also invited to take part in an activity put together by graduate land buyer, Tristan Snell, which involved planning a profitable new housing development.

Tristan, who joined Linden Homes Guildford via its graduate training scheme in 2013 and supports two senior land managers in finding potential development sites, said: “If you are interested in getting into the property industry and looking for work experience, I’d advise doing your research into different companies. Don’t be afraid to contact employers directly; you’ll need to get across that you are motivated and passionate about the company and the position you want.

“If it wasn’t for Linden Homes I would probably still be trying to get into the sector. It’s worked out perfectly for me.”

St Peter’s Catholic School English and Media teacher, Ann McKee, who accompanied pupils on the visit added: “The clarity of the presentation on the wide range of opportunities within the Galliford Try and Linden Homes companies showed the students that there was more to construction than bricks and mortar. Overall, they greatly appreciated their experience with Linden Homes, and several of them expressed an interest in a career within the industry.”

For more information about careers with Linden Homes and the Galliford Try Group, visit www.gallifordtry.co.uk/careers.

-ENDS-

Further media information: Nikki Ackerley/ Rebecca Younger, Property House Marketing, 01483 561119, Rebecca@housegroup.co.uk

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