We are very proud of how much our young Kickstarters have learned and developed into their roles since joining Millcroft just a few short months ago. Jaya was the only female recruit in the group and has adapted well to a sector that she never envisaged working in. In fact, she’s enjoying her role so much that she’s shelved her plans to go to university in favour of staying with us full time. We asked her to tell us why she joined Millcroft, how she’s finding it so far and what her role involves. Jaya said:
“I did ‘A’ levels at 6th form and had always planned to go to university, but when the pandemic happened, I decided to take a gap year while things settled down,” she explains. “I had done some temporary jobs to tide me over while I waited for the next academic year and for things to get back to normal, so I worked as a cleaner and as a nanny before the opportunity to work at Millcroft with the Kickstart scheme came around.
“I didn’t really know what to expect from the training or from working in the scaffolding sector, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some office experience and a chance to try something new.”
Jaya was initially recruited as an office administrative assistant through the Kickstart scheme and, like all our Kickstarters, she began her tenure at the company with six weeks’ training in the yard.
“I just took it all in my stride really,” Jaya says, “it was a great way to learn about the company and what Millcroft does. I really enjoyed being out there with the other Kickstarters, getting to know the rest of the team and being completely immersed in the scaffolding business.
“From the very beginning, I felt welcome at Millcroft and as though the company was really committed to training me and giving me goals to aspire to. It’s been great to be part of a Kickstart team that all joined together because we have helped each other to learn the ropes and encouraged each other to do well.”
Jaya’s six-week induction included health and safety training and she is expecting to do fire marshall training soon, but it is marketing that is taking up her time day-to-day now.
“After I’d finished my induction, I was doing general admin, but when I talked to Billy our MD, and Mike, the head of HSEQ, who is mentoring the Kickstarters, they were happy for me to take on responsibility for developing our presence online. It’s brilliant to work in an environment where there’s so much encouragement to develop your skills and contribute to the company and I’m really enjoying learning and bringing ideas to our social media activity.”
Starting work at 8am every morning, Jaya begins her day by checking her emails and Millcroft’s social media channels to see what’s been posted and look through any responses to Millcroft’s online content.
“I’ve learned so much just by looking at what others in the construction industry are posting online and it’s great when I see the responses to our own content; it feels like we’re building a community and communicating what Millcroft is up to.
“I’m enjoying the opportunity to write and create infographics, working with people across the company to make sure our marketing is up-to-date, and liaising with our marketing agency.”
Jaya remains close to the other Kickstarters and usually spends her lunch break with Will and Ahmet, our surveying and estimating Kickstarters.
“We’re so lucky to work by the river in Greenwich,” she says, “we get to enjoy great views while we have a sandwich and a catch up. After starting our roles together and spending six weeks in the scaffolding yard together during our induction, we’re quite a tight-knit group and we all support each other.
“There will be more Kickstarters starting at Millcroft in September and I’m looking forward to meeting them and giving them the same sort of welcome and encouragement I’ve had myself.”
