Some of the Academy team recently completed our annual Harvest Run to Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate, on behalf of Thanet Food Link.
Helen and Louise collecting the donations at Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate.
Helen, Jacob and Louise were delighted to collect the generous donations contributed by the wonderful children, families and staff at the school. The donated goods were then transported to the Thanet Food Link hub, where volunteers sort and prepare items for distribution to local families in need across the community.
The donations arriving at the Thanet Food Link hub, ready to be sorted.
This annual event is a fantastic example of how young people can make a real difference through kindness, generosity and community spirit. Every donation helps to support individuals and families facing difficult circumstances, particularly as we head into the colder months.
A huge thank you to everyone at Chilton Primary School for their continued support and generosity. We are proud to work alongside Thanet Food Link to help strengthen our local community and support those who need it most.
In October 2025, the London Borough of Merton partnered with Watkins to run an introductory session for people interested in entering the construction industry, particularly those who had been out of employment for some time.
Over fifteen people attended. Watkins gave them an overview of construction projects, the apprenticeship and career pathways available, and the skills and behaviours that matter on a real site. Jason Diaz, one of our current apprentices working on the Station Road (Hills site) job in Merton, spoke about his day-to-day. Having a current apprentice in the room helped make the opportunity feel real rather than theoretical.
One of the attendees was Alpha Bah. Originally from Sierra Leone, Alpha moved to England four years ago to live with his aunt and uncle, and has been keen to build a career and develop practical skills. He’d been interested in construction for a while but hadn’t had a clear way into the sector. He engaged closely throughout the session, especially with the hands-on aspects and Jason’s first-hand account.
The route in
Getting onto a UK construction site means having two things: the CITB Health, Safety & Environment Test passed, and a corresponding CSCS card issued. Together, they’re effectively the entry ticket. Without them, no site induction, no work.
Following the Merton session, Watkins identified five attendees we wanted to support through the CITB HS&E Test. Alpha was one of the five. We gave each of them guidance on the test, access to revision materials, and encouragement to actually book in and sit it, which is the bit that quietly stops a lot of people. Of the five supported, two passed. Alpha was one of the two.
Onto a live site
With the CITB test under his belt, Watkins helped Alpha get his CSCS card sorted, and then offered him a period of work experience at the Station Road site.
During the placement, Alpha worked alongside Jason Diaz (the plumbing apprentice he’d first heard speak in Merton) and learned from Reggie, one of our long-standing subcontractors. He spent time on practical, hands-on tasks using real tools and real equipment, in a real working environment.
His own reflections on it were simple and clear:
“I really enjoyed the practical work. I valued working alongside Jason the plumbing apprentice and Reggie. I appreciated getting to use equipment and tools.”
Alpha Bah, on his Watkins work experience
Why it matters
The pathway into construction is one of the more opaque ones in the UK trades. Apprenticeships exist, training exists, employer schemes exist, but the route from “I’d like to do this” to “I’m on site” can feel impossible to navigate without someone showing you the steps. The CITB test on its own intimidates a lot of capable people out of trying.
What worked for Alpha was a combination of three things: a community session where he could meet a current apprentice and ask real questions, a structured intervention to get him qualified, and a real placement at the end of it. None of those things on their own would have got him there.
His story also reinforces three things we keep coming back to:
Peer role models matter. Hearing Jason Diaz talk about his apprenticeship was what made the opportunity feel reachable.
Hands-on learning beats theory. Alpha learned more in a few days at Station Road than he could have in any number of brochures.
Early intervention and ongoing support, together. Identifying the people who need a hand, then actually sticking with them through the test and the placement.
Watkins is grateful to the London Borough of Merton for opening the door to the session in the first place, and to Jason and Reggie for showing Alpha what the work actually looks like. Stories like this one sit naturally alongside Kairo Anthony’s national award — same Watkins apprenticeship infrastructure, different chapter. We hope Alpha’s next chapter is the longer one.
The Certificate of Recognition from EBP Kent following the day.
Last month, Helen Harris (our Community & Apprenticeship Lead) and Sarah Joisce (our HR & Admin Manager) spent the day at Dover Grammar School for Boys’ Employability Day, run by EBP Kent at Discovery Park, the Sandwich-based business park that regularly hosts community events of this kind. The event gives Year 10 students their first proper interview experience: real interviewers, real feedback, in a controlled environment that lets them stumble safely before it counts.
One hundred 14- and 15-year-olds went through interviews across the day. Helen and Sarah each contributed five hours of one-to-one time across the cohort, with EBP Kent recognising the contribution against four themes: workplace skills, the job application process, personal confidence, and careers impact.
What EBP Kent does
Education Business Partnership Kent (EBP Kent for short) is a Kent-based charity that connects local employers with schools to support young people building employability skills. Their Employability Days bring volunteers from across local businesses together to interview students, offer feedback, and give a glimpse of what real workplace expectations look like.
This is the third consecutive year EBP Kent has run the event at Dover Grammar. The school sees it as a genuine positive impact on the personal confidence and aspirations of each student.
What the day looked like
Both Helen and Sarah spent the day as interviewers, sitting across from Year 10 students in 15-to-20-minute slots, working through realistic questions and providing immediate verbal feedback afterwards. For most of the boys, it was the first time they had been through anything resembling a job interview.
The pace was tight, with strict timings between sessions to make sure every student got a turn. The impact was visible by the end of the day.
What the students said
EBP Kent collected comments from students as they left their sessions:
“I really enjoyed having an interview. I didn’t think it would be a nice experience, but I was completely wrong.”
“Very useful. My interview gave me some really good feedback. Very kind and seemed impressed with my answers.”
“I think it’s really good for confidence. Especially as I haven’t done anything like this before.”
“Would have loved for it to be longer. I got on really well with my interviewer and found their feedback to be very useful.”
EBP Kent’s Natalie Coleman sent through a note of thanks afterwards:
“Giving up your time in the way that you have is an incredible gift for our charity and the school. It is becoming more and more vital that young people are able to build up a profile and evidence of experiences with employers, and your feedback, both written and verbal, will be utilised as they make their way gradually into the workplace.”
Natalie Coleman, EBP Kent
Why it matters
A Year 10 student’s first interview will happen one way or another. Saturday job applications, work experience placements, sixth form or apprenticeship interviews. EBP Kent’s Employability Days mean that interview can take place in a low-stakes setting, with someone qualified to give honest, kind feedback, before the stakes are higher.
It’s hard to overstate how much one positive interview experience can shift a young person’s confidence. The quotes above tell that story better than any report could.
We’re proud to have been part of the day, and we’re looking forward to year four. It echoes our work at Herne Bay High in April for their Year 10 mock interviews: same valuable exercise, different cohort, never stops being worthwhile.
Two years ago, Kairo Anthony joined Watkins as a brand new apprentice at our Excel site. Last week, he was named Level 2 BSE Installer Apprentice of 2026 by Choice Training, recognising him as the standout Level 2 Building Services Engineering installer in their cohort.
The recognition is at the national programme level. Choice Training works with construction and building services employers across the UK, marking a single outstanding apprentice per category each year. Kairo’s certificate arrived alongside an invitation to the awards ceremony on Friday 17 July, held at the Ted Hardy Suite, Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club.
Two years of consistent hard work. Impeccable timekeeping. A genuine appetite for learning the trade, not just clocking through it. Kairo has worked predominantly alongside Matt Cook, one of our experienced Watkins Engineers, who has provided patient guidance and on-site training throughout.
“I appreciate it very much. And I’m very thankful for all the help Watkins have given me throughout the years.”
Kairo Anthony, on being told he had won the award and that Watkins is putting him forward for Level 3
It is not the first time Kairo has been recognised. Earlier this year he picked up Watkins’ internal Apprentice of the Month award, presented by Helen (pictured above). A smaller moment, but one that pointed to where this was heading. Talent like Kairo’s tends to show up in local recognitions before it shows up in national ones.
“This is a fantastic achievement for Kairo, and one that reflects both his talent and dedication. Awards like this don’t happen by chance. They are the result of consistent effort and a genuine commitment to excellence. We couldn’t be prouder.”
Roy Lovelock, HSEQ, CSR & Watkins Academy Director
We’ve watched Kairo putting in fantastic effort over the last two years, and it’s great to see other people noticing it too!
Kairo moves up to Level 3 with Choice Training in September. 📅
Helen and Roy will be there at the ceremony on 17 July to cheer him on. 🎉
In late May, Helen attended Kent Training & Apprenticeships‘ careers fair in Margate, talking to local residents about pathways into work and what opportunities Watkins can offer the community.
What the Work Ready programme is
Kent Training & Apprenticeships runs the “Work Ready” programme, part of Kent County Council’s effort to support young people and adults into employment. The course covers essential employability skills like CV writing, interview confidence and workplace expectations, and includes a period of work experience with a local employer.
It’s a vital programme. Across the UK, around 1 million young people aren’t currently in education, employment or training, and Kent is no exception. Courses like Work Ready are one of the few practical routes that help people break that pattern, especially in communities where employer access can be limited.
What Watkins is doing
We’re providing a work experience placement in July, across our administration and Health & Safety teams. The placement gives a Work Ready participant first-hand experience inside a working business, alongside our teams during a normal working week.
It’s the first placement we’ve offered through this route, and hopefully the first of many.
Why it matters
Programmes like this only work if local employers turn up. Without practical placements, the qualification doesn’t connect to real-world experience, and participants don’t get the confidence boost that comes from being inside a real workplace.
Watkins has a long history of supporting apprenticeships and community programmes across Kent. The Academy team itself includes several people who came into HSEQ from completely different roles through internal training and apprentice routes. We know first-hand how powerful the “grown our own” model can be.
If you’re an employer in Kent considering supporting the Work Ready programme or an equivalent apprentice initiative, we’d warmly encourage it. Local careers depend on local employers showing up.
Watkins on the wall. Our plaque mounted at STC Group’s Construction House.
A lovely update from The STC Group this week: the Watkins Academy plaque is now mounted on the supporter wall at their Construction House facility. It joins a roster of industry partners alongside the Mayor of London commemorative plaque marking the building’s founding funding.
For anyone wondering how a plumbing-and-construction business in Kent ends up on the supporter wall of an Essex training college: it’s a story that started earlier this year, when Helen Harris (our Community & Apprenticeship Lead) and Lou Oastler (Training & Admin) visited STC College for an event.
“I wanted to reach out to say a huge thank you for Watkins’ generosity and continued support. Your recent donation to our Construction House has been so gratefully received, and will make such a huge difference!”
Kenzie Tipple, The STC Group
“We were impressed by their students and the array of courses available,” Helen said. “With the stock available in Unit 60 and a wishlist from STC we put together an array of equipment that could be used by the students while they train in the various disciplines.” Our driver Jacob delivered the donation to STC’s Construction House in January, where it’s been in use by their students.
Construction House is STC’s hands-on training facility, where students train across construction disciplines from plumbing and electrical to plastering and joinery. It’s the kind of place where students get to use real tools, real materials and real techniques before they ever set foot on a live site. A setup that genuinely prepares them for the working world, not just an exam.
The supporter wall is a quiet but meaningful piece of the building. Visible reassurance for students and visitors that the facility is genuinely backed by the industry they’ll eventually be working in, and a permanent thank-you to the partners who’ve helped make it what it is.
Helen has already mentioned a second delivery is in planning, so this won’t be the last you’ll hear about Watkins and STC. It’s becoming a proper ongoing partnership rather than a one-off gesture, and the kind of thing we’re very pleased to be part of.
For the full story of the original January donation, read our earlier piece: Supporting The STC Group.
The wider supporter wall, with the Mayor of London commemorative plaque at its centre.Back in January: the original kit donation that earned the plaque.
Helen, Lou and Jacob from Watkins spent a day in May helping Thanet Food Link move out of their old distribution centre in Cliftonville and into their new home at the Margate Salvation Army Citadel. Cabinets, shelving, signage and everything in between. Watkins lent a van, three pairs of hands, and a few hours of time.
A day on the move
The team spent the day loading, unloading, and helping Food Link volunteers settle into the new space. By the end of it the cabinets were in place, the shelving was up, and the foodbank was ready to carry on doing what it does best, serving local families and individuals across Thanet.
Where to find Thanet Food Link now
Address: Margate Salvation Army Citadel, Union Crescent, CT9 1NS
Entrance: Union Crescent (the upper road entrance)
Distribution: every Monday and Thursday, 10:30am to 12 noon
On site: tea, coffee and space to chat
An ongoing partnership
The move is part of a longer-running relationship. Over the past year Watkins has been supporting Thanet Food Link with monthly long-life milk donations and seasonal food drives, and we’re glad to keep finding practical ways to help them do what they do.
On Tuesday 29th April, our Community & Apprenticeship Lead Helen Harris spent the morning at Herne Bay High School, joining dozens of local employers for the school’s annual Year 10 mock interview day. Over 250 students sat their first proper interview — most of them their first time across the desk from a stranger asking “tell us about yourself”.
The day is run by EBP Kent (Education Business Partnership Kent), a local charity that links schools and employers across the county. It’s been a permanent fixture on the Herne Bay calendar for years now.
“It can be an intense experience — a conveyor belt of students to interview — but I cannot thank you enough for being such a pivotal influence at a key stage of their careers journey. It’s a pleasure to see the young people leaving their interview looking so positive and encouraged.”— Natalie Coleman, EBP Kent
Four hours, 250 interviews, plenty of nervous handshakes turning into confident ones by the end. Supporting initiatives like this is how we turn the “back the next generation” line into something tangible — alongside our own apprenticeship programme that brought Meg, Kane, Helen and Lou into HSEQ in the first place. Different rooms, same idea: confidence comes from real practice.
Helen flying the flag for Watkins Academy — with a properly turned-out Gulf-liveried Mini behind her.Helen catching some camera time too — talking the cause up to a local TV crew.
Big well done to Helen, who spent her Saturday at the Mile of MINIs 2026 on behalf of Watkins Academy — supporting Stop.Breathe.Think, the local charity providing free mental-health counselling for children and young people across East Kent.
The event brought MINI owners and supporters together for a charity convoy along the Oxfordshire countryside, raising a brilliant £10,000+ for the cause — enough to fund 300+ hours of one-to-one counselling for local young people. Watkins Academy was proud to chip in £310 towards the total.
“Events like this are everything to a small charity like ours. Every pound raised goes straight into another counselling session for a young person who needs it. Huge thanks to Helen and the Watkins Academy team for getting behind us.” — Rachel Cruz, Managing Director, Stop.Breathe.Think
Mental health is something we care about deeply at Watkins Academy — it’s woven into everything from our Mental Health in Construction guide to April’s quiz for Stress Awareness Month. Charities like Stop.Breathe.Think are doing the work that really matters, and we’re glad to be in their corner.
Update · May 2026
Our plaque is now mounted at STC Group’s Construction House — read the latest here.
A lovely note this week from our friends at The STC Group, thanking us for a recent donation of materials to their Construction House — a hands-on learning space for aspiring construction professionals. Supporting the next generation of trades is something we genuinely believe in, and seeing those materials put to work on real learning projects is the best possible outcome.
Huge thanks to Helen, our Community & Apprenticeship Lead, for driving this one — and to the STC team for the kind words. 🏡
Since September 2021, Watkins has been the long-term sponsor of Thanet Wanderers Rugby Football Club‘s grassroots work. The partnership covers three things: the club’s Mini and Junior section, its award-winning Schools and Community Programme, and the Rug Rats sessions that introduce three- and four-year-olds to rugby every Sunday morning.
Four years in, the numbers behind it have grown substantially. So has the kit, the coaching, and the number of children getting their first taste of rugby on a Saturday morning who’d never have set foot on a pitch otherwise.
“We’ve committed to a long-term partnership to help develop the Mini and Junior Section of the club, with support for coaching, kit and equipment. The agreement also supports the work they do in the award-winning Schools and Community Programme.”
“This is making an important contribution to community-based rugby and giving access to sport for all pupils across Thanet, especially girls.”
Marc Harris, Group Services Director, at the Watkins–Thanet Wanderers partnership launch, September 2021
The numbers
Between September 2024 and April 2025, 1,866 children received in-school rugby coaching through the programme. That’s 1,288 boys and 578 girls across eleven Thanet schools.
The opening three months of the 2025–26 season (September to November) have already added another 1,038 children across seven schools. 781 boys, 257 girls.
In the eleven months from September 2024 to November 2025, 2,904 children had rugby coaching they wouldn’t otherwise have had, thanks to the partnership.
What the sponsorship covers
The Mini and Junior section is the club’s youth feeder, coaching, kit and equipment for boys and girls from primary school age upwards. Watkins funds the operational backbone: training gear, match equipment, and the running cost of the youth programme as a whole.
The Schools and Community Programme is the wider reach. Thanet Wanderers coaches go into local primary and secondary schools across Thanet during PE lessons, running rugby sessions that introduce the game to kids who’d never otherwise get the chance. Particular focus on access for girls, who have historically been left out of school rugby provision.
The Rug Rats programme is the youngest end of the pipeline. Three- and four-year-olds, every Sunday morning from September to May, 9.00 to 9.45am. Forty-five minutes of organised play that introduces rugby through games before the kids are old enough to read the rules.
Why we back it
We sponsor Thanet Wanderers because community rugby is local infrastructure. It’s where the next generation of Kent rugby players come from. More importantly, it’s where thousands of kids learn about teamwork, fitness, and the value of showing up for something bigger than themselves.
The club’s commitment to access, particularly for girls who’d otherwise be excluded from the sport entirely, is the reason we picked Thanet Wanderers as a long-term partner rather than a one-off donor. A sustained relationship is what lets a programme like Rug Rats exist year after year, and what lets the schools coaching reach more pupils every season.
2,904 children in eleven months. We’re proud to be the sponsor that helped make it happen, and we’re looking forward to many more.
As part of our CSR plan, we’re working with Thanet Food Link to provide long-life milk for their food parcels every month. The charity provides families across the Thanet area with much-needed supplies, and we’re proud to support such an amazing cause.
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