Kim Smitham began her career in construction when she joined John Weaver Contractors in 2019 as an NVQ level 2 apprentice carpenter, following completion of a level 1 course at Gower College. The talented and dedicated apprentice has now gone on to be named the Best Construction Apprentice at the Swansea Bay Construction Support Group Awards 2022 in category.

The prestigious awards ceremony took place in July at the Village Hotel, Swansea, to support and recognise the achievements of new entrants, apprentices and future talent within the construction industry in the South Wales region.

The event saw 11 apprentices recognised for their outstanding work, including a number who have come through placements arranged with our Shared Apprenticeship Scheme, and via the Onsite Hub here at Cyfle Building Skills. There were 13 awards given in total on the night, one for each of the 11 nominations, plus two overall winners – the award for Best Technical Apprentice, and the award for Best Construction Apprentice which went to Kim.

Kim’s passion was evident to the team at John Weaver Contactors from day one, when she was prepared to volunteer as a labourer at its Hafod Copperworks site as a way of gaining experience and getting a foot on the ladder in the construction industry.  This obvious desire to work and genuine interest in construction impressed the John Weaver board of directors so much that they quickly offered her an apprenticeship with them.

This was a big change in career direction for Kim, having previously worked within the caring and retail sectors. As a mother of two young boys and the primary breadwinner, making such a profound change in career – with all the uncertainties which go along with it – was not a decision to be taken lightly. However, her ambition drove her to take the opportunity and, according to her employers, she has excelled in all aspects of her work.

As well as winning the recent award at this year’s SBCSG awards night, Kim has also been named as Gower College Student of the Year on two successive occasions and was the John Weaver’s Apprentice winner in 2021, due to her dedication, desire to learn, can do attitude and fantastic feedback from all her site managers, mentors and college tutors.

Kim’s tutor, Dai John, explained: “Kim is keen to learn and picks things up fast.  She is a forward thinker who needs little supervision.”

Gareth Morgans, Kim’s current Site Manager, added: “Kim is a dream to work with, thinks on her feet, and is 100 percent committed to her work each day.  Her time keeping, attendance and attitude is one to commend.  It is a real pleasure having her on our team and on site.  Her work is always of high quality.”

Kim is an excellent role model and inspiration to all those considering moving careers into the construction sector through the apprentice route. She is a caring, hardworking, energetic and committed individual who has taken the chance to follow a dream and is fully committed to all aspects of her work.

We wish Kim the very best for the future and are sure that she will continue to make a success of her chosen career.