OTE Construction Training

OTE Construction Training Orchard Training & Education deliver Construction Training across Grimsby, Hull and surrounding areas.

28/08/2026

What a week!
Talk about earning the bank holiday weekend...We kicked off a massive layout change last Friday, knocking out the MD’s office, receptionist’s office, and the main reception area. Things threw us for a loop this week with a late cement delivery and our technician off poorly, meaning we had to do all our own heavy mixing and loading out.It was a lot of stop-and-start, but we pushed through!
The new curved reception wall is nearly finished, the decorative panel is in the process of been cut, and we’ve started taking out the bricks behind the desk in the new brick wall where our staff named bricks will go when they get delivered. There is still a mountain of brickwork left before the new panel walls and ceilings go in, but we are so proud of the progress.
Press play to see exactly how we left the site today before heading off for the long weekend. Time to put down the tools and put our feet up!
Have a great bank holiday, everyone!

Talk about a fast-moving project! Two weeks ago today, I was chatting with Ben Mills MD at OTE Construction Training abo...
21/08/2026

Talk about a fast-moving project!

Two weeks ago today, I was chatting with Ben Mills MD at OTE Construction Training about the glazed plaque I got for judging this year’s Super Trowel final. For the 13 years I've worked with Ben, he's always mentioned wanting a "Staff Wall" with everyone's names built into it. That got my brain working overtime!

I got in touch with Craig Poulton at Wienerberger, who brilliant agreed to help us make the custom bricks to our design. After plenty of emails back and forth fixing some pixelated formats and double-checking everyone's spelling, they are now officially being made!

That first Friday got me trying something new. Usually, I’d sketch designs by hand, but I decided to try it on the computer. I started with a straight wall and a serving hatch and sent it to the leadership team. A meeting later, we decided this was our chance to completely transform our reception area for years to come.

It took 4 or 5 attempts on the computer, and a lot of sticking tape to the floor to see what it would look like, but we finally got a design everyone loved.

We’ve been flat out setting up our new Smart Assessor system this week, and I was panicking that we'd run out of time before the next apprentice block release and pre-apprenticeships start. But we had another meeting yesterday afternoon and got the official green light to go for it!

Arrived at work first thing this morning and did a quick "before" video of the tired old reception and offices. By 8 AM, we were stuck in—ripping out radiators, old pipework, and clearing the walls. Our MD Ben needed to keep working, so he stayed right at his desk through all the dust and noise while we knocked down the two stud walls around him! Talk about focus!

Once the walls were down and flooring was up, we marked it out and dry-bonded the brickwork. We realized it needed a bit more space, so Wayne and I moved the wall back 450mm, reset the trammel, and dry-bonded it again. Perfect fit.

An absolutely brilliant first day. Massive thanks to the ODCs and my sparky mate Darren Palmer (Palm Electric) for dropping everything to help us out today.

Have a great weekend everyone, more updates coming next week! 🍻☀️

HUGE thank you to Mark Burley from Keepmoat! Mark dropped by OTE Construction Training yesterday with a fantastic donati...
20/08/2026

HUGE thank you to Mark Burley from Keepmoat! Mark dropped by OTE Construction Training yesterday with a fantastic donation of high-viz vests for our trainees.
Keeping our young people safe is our number one priority.
Donations like this make a massive difference, ensuring every student has the correct PPE they need to work safely on-site.
Can your business help support our young people? We are always looking for donations of PPE—whether it has your company logo on it or not! We are currently looking for:High-visibility vests & jackets,Safety boots Hard hats,Protective gloves & glasses. If you can help, please drop us a message or get in touch with the team. Let’s help these guys build a bright future!

Shoutout to Sarah Oldfield and Marshalltown UK for supporting OTE Construction Training! We connected at the Supertrowel...
18/08/2026

Shoutout to Sarah Oldfield and Marshalltown UK for supporting OTE Construction Training!
We connected at the Supertrowel final, caught up on Teams, and days later this amazing goodie box arrived!
The new mortar board, jointers, lines, and corner blocks are perfect for our learners. Thank you for investing in the next generation of bricklayers!

This week at OTE, our first-year bricklaying apprentices are learning to conquer the heights! Working high up is a massi...
15/08/2026

This week at OTE, our first-year bricklaying apprentices are learning to conquer the heights! Working high up is a massive part of being a successful builder. But did you know many people never test if they are afraid of heights before starting their construction career?We are changing the game. Before any of our students head out to a real site, they will be proving they have the confidence to work safely at any level.Check out these photos of the team tackling their ladder assessments this week! They did a fantastic job. Drop a Comment to show our apprentices some support!

15/08/2026

ATTENTION HULL & HUMBER REGION TRADES & CONTRACTORS!
Thinking about taking on a new apprentice or upskilling your site team? The government just announced a massive funding package to make hiring young apprentices cheaper and easier than ever!
Here’s what local businesses need to know: £0 Training Costs for under-25 apprentices in small & medium businesses (100% government funded!)
Up to £2,000 hiring bonus paid directly to your business for young recruits (with total employer support worth up to £8,000!)
95% government funding for apprentices aged 25+No Employer National Insurance to pay for apprentices under 25!
NEW Candidate Support: Families of young apprentices can now receive up to a £4,500/year household bursary, making trade apprenticeships way more attractive to local school-leavers and young talent!
Important: All funding, grants, and bonuses are subject to employer and candidate eligibility criteria.
At OTE Construction Training in Hull, we handle all the paperwork and training so you can keep your jobs running smoothly on site.
We deliver fully supported apprenticeships in: Bricklaying
Joinery
Groundworks
Property Maintenance Plastering
& Site Skills
Get your site fully staffed with skilled, motivated tradespeople while these funds are available!
Get in touch with the OTE team today to see how much funding you qualify for!
Send us a message on Facebook or email [email protected] or [email protected] and we’ll reach check your eligibility.

HELP OUR HULL GROUNDWORKS APPRENTICES GET THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB! Our groundworks apprentices have had an incredibl...
13/08/2026

HELP OUR HULL GROUNDWORKS APPRENTICES GET THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB!

Our groundworks apprentices have had an incredibly busy week! They’ve been putting in the graft—laying and cutting new pin kerbs to a precise 20mm fall, resetting paving units, sand screeding, and building timber shuttering to get ready for more concreting.

They are working hard to master their trade, but our department needs a little help from our local suppliers and tool hire yards.

Right now, we don’t have dedicated tools for our groundworks team. We are constantly borrowing cement mixers, wheelbarrows, and shovels from the bricklaying and plastering departments. We can only use the disc cutters and mixers when they aren't using them!

To give these future Hull tradespeople the training they deserve, we are looking to partner with suppliers for tools, machinery, or materials.

We would love to connect with local and national trade teams nearby like:
Services
Tool and Plant Hire
Hire Station
Building Plastics
Hardware Ltd
Drainage & Workwear Supplies



Whether it’s refurbished equipment, older ex-hire kit (mixers, vibrating plates, cut-off saws), or heavy-duty Bulldog shovels and groundworks gear—your support will directly help local young people build a real career.

In return, we would love to proudly showcase your business in our training academy and give you regular shout-outs across our social media pages!

Can our local community please share this post, tag the right people, or point us toward any community support or regional trade managers?

Let’s build the future of Hull construction together!

Huge thank you to Quatra Direct from everyone at Orchard Training & Education (OTE)! couple of weeks ago, I reached out...
13/08/2026

Huge thank you to Quatra Direct from everyone at Orchard Training & Education (OTE)!
couple of weeks ago, I reached out to Jade Donaldson at Quatra Direct regarding lime render for our apprentice plasterers. Without a single hesitation, Jade jumped right into action!The speed of their support was absolutely incredible:Tuesday: We had our first conversation with Jade. Friday: 120 bags of lime render were delivered straight to our centre. Generously supplied completely free of charge! This massive donation is a huge deal for our trainees. In many plastering courses, rendering units are often just taught as theory. A lot of apprentice plasterers only get the knowledge on paper, but they rarely get to actually have a go and practice the physical application.Thanks to Quatra Direct, our apprentices are spending this week mixing and applying traditional lime render for the very first time! It was fantastic to see them gaining true, hands-on experience with these materials. This gives them a massive advantage as they start their careers in the trade.We cannot thank Jade Donaldson and the team at Quatra Direct enough for this amazing generosity. You are making a genuine investment in the next generation of plasterers!
Can your business help support the next generation?
Support from companies like this is invaluable to training centres like ours. If your business can help support us at OTE to train the next generation of construction workers, please get in touch!
Email us today at: [email protected]
Check out some photos of our apprentices hard at work this week!

CAN YOU HELP US SAVE WATER? We need a little help from our amazing community!Our two training centres are busy places. O...
13/08/2026

CAN YOU HELP US SAVE WATER?
We need a little help from our amazing community!Our two training centres are busy places. Our students use a massive amount of water every week mixing up mortar, plaster, and concrete.To help protect the environment and cut down our water usage, we want to start catching rainwater coming off our roofs! To do this, we are looking for a donation of 3 IBC tanks (the big water cubes in metal cages).If you or a local business have 3 clean IBCs that you no longer need, we would love to take them off your hands!Please send us a message or comment below if you can help us go green.

BECOMING A SOLDIER WAS IN MY BLOOD. LIFE HAD OTHER PLANS.​My grandad was shot and bedridden in WWI.My dad lied about his...
07/08/2026

BECOMING A SOLDIER WAS IN MY BLOOD. LIFE HAD OTHER PLANS.

​My grandad was shot and bedridden in WWI.

My dad lied about his age to enlist at 14, driving ambulances in Egypt.

My older brother landed on the Falklands, survived two tours in Northern Ireland, and later joined the fire brigade.

​Growing up, my mind was made up: I was off to army university to make sergeant and climb the ranks.

​Then came my brother’s stag night. He was home on leave to get married, got a bit too drunk, and spent the night talking me out of enlisting. That single conversation completely redirected my life.

​Fast forward to today: I am the Director of Occupational Development at OTE Construction Training. While my career path changed, my deep respect for our armed forces never did.

​Now, I want to use my position to give back to the men and women who served.

​We are preparing to launch a new program dedicated to helping veterans transition into construction. We’re starting with short, sharp, intensive training courses for future bricklayers, before expanding into other trades. Veterans bring unmatched discipline, teamwork, and resilience—the exact qualities our industry is crying out for.

​To make this happen and train these heroes at no cost to them, WE NEED FUNDING.

​We are looking to connect with:

Grant providers and funding bodies

Construction companies looking to sponsor a vet

Organisations passionate about supporting our armed forces community

​If you can help, want to partner with us, or know someone who might, please send me a message or share this post to help us spread the word. Let’s build something great for those who served us.
Contact [email protected]

​

Address

100 New Cleveland Street
Kingston Upon Hull
HU87HE

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+441482253200

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