Apprenticeship comes full circle

Rumbling across the Cumbrian moors on an ATV with his team, towards their remote moorland worksite, Zach Thompson is in his element. 

On the peaty heights above Haweswater, they will spend a long day reprofiling decades-old grips, installing horseshoe bunds, and planting thousands of sphagnum moss plugs.

Zach graduated from YDMT’s Rural Apprenticeship scheme a decade ago and has since, with friend Tom Holgate, established a successful environmental contracting firm, Field and Fell, undertaking large-scale projects in Yorkshire, Cumbria and beyond.

And things have now come full circle: riding the ATV with Zach, is one of Field and Fell’s newest recruits, 17-year-old James Bull, himself a YDMT Rural Apprentice.

Image: Field & Fell, Zach James and Tom 

“Tom’s wife Sophie called one day, after a lad had driven into their farmyard on a tractor, looking for work,” said Zach. “I rang him, we chatted, and Tom and I decided to take him on. We asked YDMT whether they still offered apprenticeships like the one I’d been on, and they were delighted: it’s the first time a former apprentice has employed a YDMT apprentice of their own.”

The apprenticeship scheme is managed by YDMT’s Jo Boulter. “We were thrilled – partly because Zach had been one of my first apprentices – but primarily because it embodies the reasons why the scheme was established in YDMT’s early days,” she said. “It’s there to help young people find employment, to enable them to stay in the area where they grew up while gaining the skills to enhance, conserve and protect that area. 

“It’s not easy for start-ups like Zach and Tom’s to secure funds to employ people, which they must do to grow, so it helps local employers as well.” 

The apprenticeship scheme offers school leavers a first step towards a conservation-related career. YDMT identifies potential employers and offers them financial incentives to take on apprentices. “Employing an apprentice costs money: firms have to devote time and resources to training them, and they need time out to attend courses,” said Jo.

It was while apprenticed to environmental contractor Dinsdale Moorland Specialists, based in Wigglesworth, that Zach met his now-business partner Tom.

“I’d written to Dinsdale’s looking for a job and they took me on as a YDMT apprentice,” said Zach. “I gained plenty of hands-on experience. That’s where I learned to drive diggers, tractors and dumpers while working towards further qualifications. Going to college one day every fortnight provided a break from work. I enjoyed the banter with the others on the course, and the apprenticeship offered the right mix of theory in college and practical experience at Dinsdale’s.”

Soon after completing his apprenticeship, Zach left Dinsdale’s to become a self-employed contractor. Tom left around the same time and the pair eventually pooled their talents to form Field and Fell.

Field and Fell’s success is such that Zach and Tom now employ four staff, including apprentice James.

Zach said: “Without YDMTs Rural Apprenticeship funding, taking James on would have been a gamble. He’s been with us since August on an 18-month placement and has already learned a lot."

 

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