A 21-year-old construction apprentice is putting AI and sustainability skills into practice on Berkeley’s 4,600-home Eastbrook Village development in Milton Keynes.
Oscar Anderson (main picture), from Bedford, is completing a Level 3 Construction Support Technician apprenticeship and celebrates achieving a distinction.
His role at Eastbrook Village spans the internal and external site management teams and includes preparing the development for environmental audits and ensuring sustainability information is accurately recorded.
Anderson also uses AI and digital systems to help track carbon emissions and carry out waste auditing alongside more traditional construction skills.
DIFFERENT APPROACH
Anderson says: “One of the coolest things is seeing how these future skills complement one another. For example, we can track carbon emissions and perform waste auditing using AI and digital systems, which really speeds things up while adding a different perspective to our manual processes.”
His training also includes reading and scaling drawings, health and safety and gathering evidence for energy performance assessments.
He has undertaken secondments to other Berkeley developments, including the high-rise Glasswater Locks scheme in Birmingham.
Anderson adds: “I’ve learnt so much since I started; I’ve developed skills in reading and scaling drawings, knowledge of health and safety, and experience in how to accurately gather evidence for energy performance assessments.”
4,600 HOMES PLANNED
Eastbrook Village is being delivered in partnership with Milton Keynes City Council and Homes England and will provide more than 4,600 homes across approximately 950 acres.
Plans also include a 160-acre country park, four schools, a Community and Health Hub, sports facilities, local amenities and infrastructure improvements.
Anderson says contributing to the project has particular significance for someone of his generation.
“At 21, when people of my generation know how difficult it can be to find a home, it feels positive to be contributing to a new community and helping provide homes for the future.
“Going from the pre-construction stages to seeing the first phase come to life is a real privilege.”
INDUSTRY NEEDS NEW SKILLS
Stephen Kirwan, Managing Director at Berkeley, says: “Delivering the homes and neighbourhoods the country needs means combining the fundamentals of safe, high-quality construction with the skills to use new technology while reducing environmental impact and boosting biodiversity.
“Oscar’s work at Eastbrook Village is giving him meaningful experience on a live development while helping us create a new community designed to stand the test of time.”
Anderson encourages other young people considering construction apprenticeships to enter the industry.
He adds: “Get stuck right in. You do not know until you try, and you are there to learn. There is no such thing as a stupid question, and you can arrive as a complete beginner. The industry needs new skills, and at Berkeley there are people around you who want to mentor and encourage you.”
