16 December 2025
How apprentice Harrison Coleman engineered a career in construction
D-Drill & Sawing managing director and former Build UK chair Julie White is passionate about bringing through the next generation of workforce in the construction industry. So much so, that Julie was recently appointed onto the Government’s Construction Skills Mission Board.
In this regular feature on the D-Drill website, The Real Apprentice – You Are Hired, Julie has been catching up with apprentices in the industry both within D-Drill and at other companies in the sector to show the breadth of careers on offer – with hundreds of jobs in the industry!
Harrison Coleman didn’t fancy university when he was thinking about life after school and decided to go down the apprenticeship route. He joined one of the UK’s leading contractors – Skanska – four years ago and is on the road to gaining a degree apprenticeship in an industry he loves!
Harrison said: “I work for Skanska as a Project Engineer after I joined straight out of school.
“I did a Level 3 qualification in Building Services Design Engineering at Westminster College, and now I’m going into the third year of my Level 6 degree apprenticeship at London South Bank University, still in Building Services Design Engineering.
“Skanska has supported me every step of the way right through from Level 3 up to the degree.
“My role here varies depending on the stage of a project that we’re at. At the moment, I’m working on a commercial project at Millbank, focusing on procurement, securing packages, signing contracts, doing design reviews.
“When a project is live, I’ll supervise mechanical works, handle snagging, attend daily briefings, and manage defects. I also spend one or two days a week with Skanska’s operational efficiency team, working with engineers to grow my design knowledge.
“On top of that, I’ve been involved in smart buildings, helping roll out our in-house platform to improve efficiency.
“My dad works in construction as a Building Management Systems engineer and I always knew I wanted to be an engineer, but didn’t realise how many different types there were.
“I came out of school with no clear idea of what I wanted to do. If I hadn’t gone into construction, I’d probably have gone to university just to delay making a decision.
“But I knew I didn’t want to go to university, so I started looking for apprenticeships online. I found Skanska’s role on the government apprenticeship site, applied, and here I am.
“To be honest, I wanted to gain real work experience alongside qualifications. I thought I’d just do the Level 3, but Skanska encouraged me to progress further. It’s been great because I’ve built up years of experience while earning my degree.
“I’ve got three siblings, and two of them are also doing apprenticeships now. It’s such a good way to get into an industry, earn while you learn, and build your career. I’d definitely recommend it – 100 per cent!
“When I was at school, I found that everything was quite university-focused, with little information about apprenticeships. Skanska now do careers events at schools, so hopefully things are improving from that point of view but more still needs to be done across the board.
“I have had so many great experiences here. The first job I worked on was great! It was a campus-style development in Shoreditch that had multiple buildings, and I got to see them progress one by one. It really helped me learn quickly and take on more responsibility.
“I just love the fact that no two days are the same and you get to enjoy so much variety. There are so many different jobs too!
“On some projects, there are literally thousands of people involved before construction even begins, and projects can take 10 to 15 years from planning to completion. It’s incredible to see how many specialists are needed. That’s really been an eye-opener!
“So, my honest advice to anyone thinking of doing an apprenticeship is to go for it. There’s a real skills shortage, which means there are lots of opportunities. If you work hard, you can progress quickly and earn well too.”
Julie’s thoughts: “Since I started this series, I have been blown away by every apprentice I have spoken to and Harrison was another example of that.
“He spoke with such maturity and intelligence and has very clear goals about what he wants to achieve in an industry that runs in the family.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of roles in the industry from main contractors through to specialist trades. I agree with Harrison, we have to do much more to get that message out to schools so they start to push our industry to students.”
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