A young man building a solid foundation for himself in the construction business has been shortlisted for a coveted national award.
Mathew Allport, a 25-year-old trainee site manager with Rhyl-based Anwyl Construction, is in the running to take one of the top prizes in the 2014 Duke of Gloucester Young Achievers Awards at a glittering presentation ceremony in London on March 20.
Mathew is in the running for the hotly-contested Construction Delivery Award, thanks to his work on two major building projects and the way he has handled his role as the company’s first Construction Ambassador developing links with schools and communities.
Mathew, originally from Prestatyn and now living in St Asaph, joined award-winning builders Anwyl Construction eight years ago as a trainee joiner.
He qualified after a three-year apprenticeship and is currently on a day release course at Llandrillo College studying for a BSc Honours in Construction Science.
Mathew recently completed a course designed to enable him to represent the building industry and the firm as Construction Ambassador.
The course, run by the Construction Industry Training Board, has trained him to liaise with schools, colleges and local community groups to give them an insight into employment opportunities and engagement with the building industry.
He is rising rapidly through the ranks at Anwyl Construction and has played key roles in two major projects over the past year.
It was this solid record of achievement that saw him nominated by his company for the Duke of Gloucester Awards.
Now in its third year, the scheme, with the support of the Trust’s Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, is an opportunity for exceptional young professionals to be commended and celebrated for their achievements.
Mathew said: “I was delighted to be nominated in the first place for such a prestigious awards scheme and then to be shortlisted is an even greater honour for me.
“To get on to the shortlist I went down to the London headquarters of the Construction Youth Trust, which runs the awards, early in February and had an interview with some of the key figures in the scheme and from the construction business about my career so far.
“I outlined the work I did as the assistant site manager on an £8.5 million sheltered housing project in Mold early last year and then on another job at Dolgellau which involved the conversion of a fast food freezing unit for the engineering department at Coleg Llandrillo.
“That was the first job I ran myself and I enjoyed it very much. We’ve just finished that one and I’m currently waiting to be assigned to my next job which will possibly also be somewhere in north Wales.
“I also gave a brief outline about my work as the company’s Construction Ambassador, which is really enjoyable and means going out to schools, colleges and other organisations to tell young people what the construction industry is all about and the employment opportunities it provides.
“I also represent Anwyl Construction at careers conventions and seminars, giving presentations and answering questions about working in the industry, organising site visits and activity days and arranging mentoring opportunities.”
The presentation of the awards will be made by the Duke of Gloucester at the Underglobe, the events area beneath the Globe Theatre, in London on March 20.
Anwyl Construction Director Tom Anwyl said: “Mathew has made the most of the opportunities we’ve offered him since he joined us as an apprentice.
“He is a bright and articulate young man with a great future in the industry and we’re very proud of what he has achieved in being shortlisted for this prestigious award.
“We take particular pride in developing the apprentices we take on to become the site managers and contracts managers of the future – 20 per cent of our workforce, over 30 people, actually began with us as apprentices.”
Mathew said: “I’ll be going down to London with my Commercial Manager at Anwyl Construction, Simon Rose, and my girlfriend, Alice, from Dyserth and I’m looking forward to it very much.
“This is all a big honour for me. I’ve no idea if I’ll win but just to get on the shortlist is amazing.”
