Gartland joins BREng directly from school and will undertake a three-year Building Services Engineering course leading to a Level 4 qualification, with the option to progress further. Based at the company’s Hull headquarters, he will work alongside HVAC project manager Tom Smelt and electrical engineer Adam Sykes.

His journey began with a week of work experience at BREng, followed by part-time work during weekends and school holidays. “I really enjoyed it,” said Gartland. “My dad has worked in the service side of the industry all his life, so moving into HVAC and building services design felt like a natural step.”

The government-funded apprenticeship combines day-release online study with hands-on training. Gartland is already contributing to live projects, including heat load calculations for retail sites and a decarbonisation initiative for an education provider in the North East. He will also assist with digital building surveys and 3D scans, gaining proficiency in HEVACOMP, CAD and Autodesk Revit.

BREng founder and managing director Rob Smelt said: “Demand for energy-efficient and low-carbon buildings is expanding at a tremendous rate. Decarbonising the national estate will require a huge increase in skilled manpower. We’re committed to helping recruit and train the new generation of engineers and designers needed to meet the UK’s net-zero targets.”