Magenta Living and Seddon team up to provide essential opportunity for apprentices

Four apprentices can now complete their apprenticeship thanks to a partnership between the Bolton-based Seddon Housing Partnerships and Magenta Living, a leader provider of affordable housing.

Callum Keith, Braden Laurie, Sam Parkin and Luke Turner had been working on their apprenticeships with Magenta Living.

But Seddon has now come onboard and has provided the men site-based opportunities on the Three Sails Point project, a 158-home development in Widnes, Cheshire, providing a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and rent-to-buy options in two phases. As well as providing crucial places to live for people, the development will also create jobs and other opportunities for residents and the local community.

The apprentices will gain experience on the site in replacing skirting boards before putting their hands to property joists, roofs and stairs.

Seddon is well placed to help apprentices in the housing sector, having facilitated similar schemes before and organising an apprentice exchange initiative.

In 2023, it was awarded a platinum award after securing a 97 per cent rate for its own apprentices; it has recruited more than 450 in the last 23 years so knows how important they are.

Lewis Welsby, Contract Manager at Seddon, said: “We are delighted to be able to help these hard-working, dedicated and very capable apprentices complete their course.

“They will be based at our Three Sails Point developing in Widnes helping with a variety of tasks all in aid of them gaining experience that will not only enable them to finish their apprenticeship but also carry them through into paid work too.

“At Seddon, we always want to go above and beyond to help the next generation interested in a career in housing, and through this and our other initiatives, such as being part of an apprentice exchange, we hope we’re going some way towards achieving that.”

Magenta Living are a not-for-profit housing provider, who own and manage 13,000 properties.

They are the largest housing provider in the Wirral, but also operate across north-west England. Their major plans include the construction of 1,000 new homes in the area.

Annette Dooley, Senior Project Manager at Magenta, added: “We do important work at Magenta and we are proud of the fact we take on as many apprentices as we can each year. Our apprenticeship programme truly is life-changing.

“Our thanks extend to Seddon for offering these enthusiastic apprentices the chance to complete their course and gain valuable work skills.

“We are always keen to work with others in all areas of housing and are grateful Seddon could assist.”