Apprenticeships: I'm helping build the 2012 Olympic site

Leon February was born and bred in London and now works as an apprentice formworker on the Athletes Village, slap bang in the middle of the London 2012 Olympic site.

He explains how careers advice and training from a local youth group led to work on the most exciting construction project in the UK.

I'm a practical, hands-on sort of guy, so school subjects weren't really my thing. When I finished my education, I didn't really know what I wanted to do and didn't feel like I'd received much in the way of guidance from my teachers. It was the guys at the Emmanuel Youth Project – a club I used to go to once a week – who really helped me focus on what I wanted to achieve.

They trained me up on the skills I needed to get a job – things like how to interview well and how to portray more confidence. These were things I was never taught at school.

I realized that – other than being famous!– what I really wanted to get into was construction and maybe one day architecture. The Emmanuel guys told me about an apprentice scheme called BeOnSite and sent me on a two-week training course. Now I'm training for my NVQ level 2 in formwork, while working on the Athletes Village. I'm helping build the apartments that will house famous athletes like Usain Bolt at the 2012 games – very exciting.

"I've experienced the whole package."

Day to day my job involves building the concrete frames which form the walls of structures in the Athletes' Village. I have to help erect a "shutter" – kind of like a mould - in place for the concrete to be poured into. I've not just been confined to formworking though – I've tried my hand at steelfixing, engineering, labouring – I've got to experience the whole package.

Obviously money is an important factor in choosing a career. I don't think I'm the only person in the world who thinks I should get paid more for what I do. But I know I'm still learning at the moment and I get my determination from the fact that I'll have a career at the end of my apprenticeship. I'm surprised more isn't made of apprenticeship schemes like mine – I'm really getting a feel for what being a formworker is like, plus I get a free work-out every day!

It's great to be a part of such a big event. Once the building work is finished, we'll all feel like, "I helped build that!" I guess that's one of the best things about the job.

Visit www.makingthegames.co.uk to follow Leon's exploits and find out more about the different career paths connected to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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