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It's the boys turn to shop

Thirty tonnes of chippings, 12 square metres of decking, 3 tonnes of timber, fence paint, wall paint, rope, fencing, screws and nails of varying size were just a few of the items on this year’s apprentice challenge shopping list!

Thirty two of our apprentices and six of our trainers spent the week sprucing up the outdoor space at two residential centres belonging to Action for Children Wales.


Apprentices get to grips with the various tasks during the week at Ty Storrie and Ty Laura but took some time to gather for a group shot at each location.

At Ty Storrie in Cardiff, 12 apprentices cleared overgrown areas to improve access and make the outdoor space more ‘user’ friendly. Fences were brightly painted and new play tables were purpose built to replace 2 redundant floor trampolines along with some adapted planters with wheelchair access.

Darren Berry, one of our trainers co-ordinated the work at both locations explained: “Each year we try to support a project which has a wider benefit to the local community. All these apprentices are in their first year of an electrical apprenticeship and very few would have any experience of building at any level, so to see what they have achieved in the past few days is amazing.”

In Swansea, Ty Laura was an opportunity to make a big impact as the outdoor space was vast but under used, due largely to access issues. The 20 apprentices here created sweeping pathways that would take the children around the garden to the existing and new structures created.



In just four days, apprentices built a new wooden swing from scratch to replace the existing swing, a huge timber den with access for less able bodied children youngsters in an unused area of the garden.

Overgrown trees and scrubs were cut back and recycled into chippings scattered around the planting areas as fences and walls were painted to brighten up the whole space.

Darren added: “The feedback from staff on each site has been very positive and the work involved will create a stimulating and fun environment for all the children and young people who use these services.

“WPD’s annual apprentice challenge has been in operation since 2002 and alternate each year between its South Wales and South West regions. Everyone who took part deserves a huge pat on the back for their commitment during both challenges in this unusually hot weather!”
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