To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2026, we sat down with Josh Hewitt to catch up on his past year working within our Property and Asset Management team. Our first ever Apprentice Surveyor, Josh gave us a look into his day-to-day this time last year, so we were really looking forward to hearing his reflections now he’s further along the apprenticeship track.
Settling in, moving up
Now a year and a half into the programme, Josh has been seeing and doing more as the months go on. As his time here has stacked up, so has the workload and the studying, but Josh was keen to share that despite new demands and challenges he’s felt confident to met the challenge. With the work-life balance an important one to strike, Josh has been making the most of the day out of the office a week that we give all our apprentices.
“It gives you the time to fully dedicate yourself to your work and to your studies, which is honestly invaluable. I can take my studying as seriously as I do my time on site or in the office, and that’s a huge plus when it comes to progression.”
Back to the start
Josh shared that his biggest fear when deciding to take on an apprenticeship concerned manageability. But very quickly, Josh found that doing a day job and preparing to undertake a degree was a much more manageable process than he had anticipated. Having realised this, he shares that he wishes he’d taken the step sooner.
“Overthinking is a tendency everyone is familiar with, and the feeling of relief and surprise once you’re in is also just as common. My advice to anyone considering making the next move in their career would be to go for it – I’ve certainly not regretted a second!”
Learning on the job
Like many considering an apprenticeship pathway, gaining the everyday skills required to do a job and do it well is a big draw. For Josh, that meant being present in an office, getting out and about, meeting new people and building up his overall professional experience.
“You can learn so much, including about yourself, if the work you do is aligned with your interests and needs. If you can pin down what you like doing, what suits your skillsets and what aligns with your personality, you’ll end up enrolling into a programme that you not only love but that will also give you what you want out of it.”
You can read more about Josh’s first year at Hartnell Taylor Cook HERE.
