Local School Leavers Gain Skills at Kirkwood Timber Frame

A trio of school leavers are upskilling, taking on traineeships with Aberdeenshire-based timber frame specialist Kirkwood Timber Frame.

Cameron Forbes, 18, Harrison Brodie, 18 and Gabe Taylor 16, all from Sauchen have all joined Kirkwood Timber Frame as Factory Operatives.

Alan Little, Factory Operations Manager at Kirkwood Timber Frame said: “It has been great to welcome the lads to the factory team and to see their personal and professional skills develop.

“As a company we are committed to providing training and employment opportunities for local people. Our traineeship roles are opening the door to school leavers and providing an insight into timber frame construction and the variety of roles available.”

Harrison added: “Living within a rural area, job opportunities after finishing secondary school can be limited, with most positions within hospitality or service industries.

“I really wanted a hands on, practical job, so when I saw the position advertised I jumped at the chance. I am really enjoying the work and the lads in the factory have helped the three of us settle in.”

Since its inception, Kirkwood Timber Frame has invested heavily in its factory facility. This includes £3m in state-of-the-art machinery and technology, to ensure it has the capability and capacity to support the growing timber frame market and customers’ needs.

A growing company

It is capable of delivering up to 2,000 timber frame structures per year – and are on track to deliver around 1000 structures this financial year across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

The company has over 40 years’ experience in delivering timber frame structures. Its factory is said to be one of only a select few in the UK to produce panels of 12 meters in length, 3.2m high and up to 300mm deep. Its team has grown from 12 to 32 inclusive of its joinery operations and has significantly invested in staff training and development.

Kirkwood Timber Frame also has a proven record of successfully delivering self-build projects for customers in city, urban, rural, and isolated locations across the UK.

For more information about Kirkwood Timber Frame, visit: www.kirkwoodtimberframe.co.uk