A young Crohn’s sufferer, who was forced to miss lots of school, is refusing to let the disease stand in his way, and is heading towards a successful plumbing career after enrolling at Leeds College of Building and securing an apprenticeship.
Liam Banks, aged 20 from Leeds, was diagnosed with the disease as a youngster and immediately embarked on an intensive treatment programme which meant spending long periods of time in hospital. Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining at a number of points throughout the digestive system.
In 2013 Liam enrolled on a full time plumbing course at Leeds College of Building. He completed his Level 1 and 2 qualifications, and was studying for Level 3 when he was invited onto an apprenticeship trial, through the College, with leading central heating specialist Palm Yorkshire, which is based in Pudsey.
Liam explains: “Life with Crohn’s can be tough and it would have been easy to give in to it, but I always wanted to learn a trade, which is what attracted me to Leeds College of Building. Securing an apprenticeship requires lots of dedication and the College’s support has been invaluable in helping me to find the right opportunity with the right employer. I’m really enjoying the work and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for me as I progress with my training.”
Nishan Rathore, Work Placement Officer at Leeds College of Building, says: “Employers regularly contact us when they’re looking for apprentices and Liam was an obvious fit for Palm Yorkshire. He’d already completed two plumbing courses and he has the tenacity and attention to detail to go far, so we’re delighted that we helped him to secure this apprenticeship.”
Simon Arrowsmith, Operations Manager at Palm Yorkshire, adds: “We firmly believe in contributing to the communities where we operate and one way of doing this is by employing local people who we can help to reach their full potential. Working with Leeds College of Building to recruit and train apprentices is a great way of finding ambitious, talented young people and after a two day trial we immediately knew that Liam would be a great fit for our team.”
For more information about Leeds College of Building and its courses, visit www.lcb.ac.uk
