An Edinburgh dad has shared how a new apprenticeship has allowed him to find his calling in life and restore balance in his family life.
Gavin Burgess, 34, says that he was unsure of what to do with his life when in his twenties but after he and his wife Susan had their first daughter Olivia he had to put family first. This led to him having to undertake a painstaking schedule of night shifts, daytime child care and college.
Like most young families, the cost of early years childcare was a massive stress and they had to decide what was feasible for their household. They decided that as Susan returned to work, Gavin would use his management experience to secure a night shift role with Sainsbury’s.
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This meant that Gavin would undertake the day time caring responsibilities, which he accepts is a reversal of the traditional gender roles in relationships. But the set up was unsustainable and it would be a career as a graduate apprentice with international property and construction firm Thomas & Adamson (T&A) that would turn his family’s fortunes around.
On his journey he said: “During my twenties I did not know what to do with myself which is quite common for a lot of folk. I went from one job to another without any particular career in mind to focus on.
“When I got to my mid twenties my wife fell pregnant and the first thing you do is look at the finances. It was apparent that once maternity leave was up it was worth her going back to work but it was not feasible for us to pay for childcare five days a week.
“We came to the realisation that I’d have to find a night shift job. I had management experience so applied for an interview with Sainsburys and was successful.
“When I was thinking about going onto nights I was fine with it but I did not realise the impacts it would have. My health deteriorated and my mood really dipped, it felt as though my way of life was substandard.
“I did that for seven years but three or four years later we had our second kid and it dawned on me that I needed an exit plan. I thought I cannot sustain this til the point that we no longer need childcare.
“I always enjoyed building things and playing with LEGO as a kid. So I applied to complete a HNC in construction management West Lothian college - I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but knew that was the field I wanted to go into.
“I Completed that during the evenings before work. My schedule was intense for two years where I’d go to college from 6-9pm and then work 9pm-7am before coming home and looking after the kids before getting a bit of sleep and repeating.”
When he got to the end of his HNC some people on the course had discussed being a building surveyor which sounded appealing to him. But it was a painful journey of rejections to try to get his foot on the ladder.
Wife Susan works in HR and so pointed Gavin in the direction of graduate apprenticeships. He scoured websites like Skills Development Scotland but there were not a lot of opportunities as the Covid-19 pandemic set in.
His next step was to send out around 50 to 60 speculative emails which at first led to a raft of rejections. But he landed on his feet when T&A responded just as he was giving up hope.
Within two months he began work for them in January 2022. By August of the same year he had begun his graduate apprenticeship.
On this he said: “It is difficult to juggle everything because when you compare being full time student or full time apprentice. I’m working 9-5 every week and then I have to find time to study and complete my course work.
“You have to find time for the family as well but I keep saying it is just temporary until I get my qualification. It is odd as those my age in this industry are a lot further on with their career but that doesn’t bother me.
“We have such a close knit family and now that I am in this role we get to spend a lot more quality family time together. My eldest remembers how difficult it was when I was doing nights.
“My wife and I would be like passing ships in the night and my mood was terrible. Although I was maybe doing the traditional day time caring role it did not bother us and we just got on with it as a family.
“The girls are not that interested at the moment and just think that dad looks at buildings. To be honest life is just as busy now with all their youth clubs in the evenings but the time we have together is of a higher quality, the house is full of happiness and laughter.”
On his advice for others looking to pursue a career change, he added: “Don’t give up. I think it is so easy to have a vision or a dream but for it to feel unattainable so you just stop pursuing it.
“There is so much support out there and T&A are a great example of businesses that take on apprentices to build new careers. They have been so supportive, for example they let me away for my daughters assembly the other week, and I find a lot of modern companies are flexible.
“You are never too old to pursue a new career in life.”
Gavin has been with wife Susan for 14 years and has two daughters, Olivia nine and Summer seven.
T&A currently employs seven apprentices and is looking to recruit further in 2023 as part of its business growth, with a successful list of former apprentices on its roster. Each trainee is appointed a dedicated mentor, which allows them to gain insight into both the industry and the business through exposure to the range of professional services offered within the firm.
For anyone interested in following in Gavin’s footsteps, you can learn more about opportunities with T&A through their website here.
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