Walsall apprentice builds on success at Tarmac

Guy Tooth secures permanent position and takes on role of mentoring the newest apprentice

GUY Tooth, a 23-year-old apprentice from Walsall, has secured a permanent job with Tarmac and will help deliver the company’s highways repair and maintenance contract for Walsall Council.

In fact, Mr Tooth has been so successful, he has now taken on the role of mentoring the newest apprentice to join Tarmac’s team in Walsall.

Mr Tooth joined the company in 2013 as an apprentice highways operative as part of a joint initiative with the Council to support young people in Walsall into work. After successfully completing his Level 2 Diploma in Construction Operations qualification, he has now started a full-time role as a highways operative.

Commenting on his experiences as an apprentice, Mr Tooth said: ‘As well as developing practical skills, Tarmac’s apprenticeship helped me gain confidence in myself and my ability to succeed. I’m really positive about the future and looking forward to what comes next. Hopefully, before long I’ll be able to supervise my own team.’

He added: ‘I got great encouragement from the team when I joined and learned a lot from them, so it’s nice to be able to support someone who is starting out like I was two years ago. I want to help show what can be achieved if you apply yourself and take the opportunities that are available.’

Mark Harriman, operations manager at Tarmac, commented: ‘From the beginning of his apprenticeship, Guy has shown a real determination to succeed, embracing all the challenges and opportunities which have come his way. We’re absolutely delighted to welcome him to the team on a permanent basis and look forward to supporting his continued career progression within Tarmac.’

Since joining Tarmac, Mr Tooth has gained a wealth of experience, from working with reactive maintenance teams to delivering major scheduled works, footpaths improvements and road drainage projects.

After supporting him to pass his driving test, Tarmac enrolled Mr Tooth on an HGV driving course, which he passed at the first attempt, leading to additional opportunities for him to work with Tarmac’s winter gritting team.