THERE was a time when former footballer Toby Egan dreamed of playing for England – but says he is happier as a bricklayer than he ever was in goal.
He signed for Ipswich Town as a 12-year-old but after seven years of giving everything to the Championship club he was dropped at 19 and left devastated.
4
4
Toby, now 24, was then turned down for minimum-wage jobs and felt “useless” until he turned his life around after signing up to an apprenticeship.
Now he has his own bricklaying business, he feels in control of his future and thinks The Sun on Sunday’s Builder Better Britain campaign is a fantastic idea.
We launched the campaign to highlight the need for more British workers to be trained, instead of hiring migrants to do jobs.
Toby says: “I’d urge other youngsters who once had dreams of becoming football stars to do what I did.
“There are thousands of footballers across the country who get released at a similar age and don’t really have a path or know where to look, so I would definitely recommend the apprenticeship route.
“When I left Ipswich Town, I thought apprenticeships were for 16-year-olds and I was too old, but I wasn’t even the oldest on my course.
‘I FELT LOST’
“There was everybody from teenagers to lads in their early 20s like me and some who had come out of the Army and were 35. It isn’t just for school leavers as people assume.
“The Sun on Sunday’s campaign is brilliant because it is opening people’s eyes to apprenticeships.
“I chose to learn bricklaying but when you get on a site you realise how many trades go into building one single house — there are so many opportunities.”
Toby, who left school at 16, says he will never forget the moment he was dropped in 2020.
He says: “I’d travelled with the first team, trained daily with professional players, we toured the Cayman Islands.
“But there’s only a limited number of goalkeeper positions available, and I turned up to training one morning and it was literally over.
“The club turned around one day and said, ‘We’re not offering you a contract, we don’t think you’re good enough’. It was over. It was brutal. I felt lost afterwards.
“Once you are released, that’s it — you are done and dusted. I came away with a Level 3 BTEC in Sport which doesn’t get you any employment.
“I felt pretty useless and I was even getting turned away from basic minimum wage work as I had no previous experience. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
“I tried a bit of factory work then got into labouring as a hod carrier. I didn’t really know what it was, but it was work and money.”
4
After two years Toby, from Haverhill, Suffolk, was recommended for a bricklaying apprenticeship at the National House Building Council Training Hub in Cambridge, which he completed in 15 months with a distinction.
He says: “Everyone on my course was brilliant,
“I made some really good friends. The course taught me so many skills, I became confident with a trowel and would go back on site regularly to put my training into practice, and then return to the NHBC Training Hub to learn the next part of my apprenticeship.
“I felt very low when I left football but my confidence started to grow.
“I realised that just because you’ve failed in the past doesn’t mean you can’t apply yourself and succeed in the future.”
Toby says many of the skills he learned in football have helped him get back on his feet.
He added: “Number one is teamwork and the hard work. Building is creative too. You can stand back and look at what you’ve done and be proud.
“The money was tight at first but I can make fantastic money as a bricklayer. People don’t realise that.
“And the better you are, the more money you earn.”
4
‘FANTASTIC MONEY’
And he loves the fact he may one day pass on his skills to his three-year-old son Brooklyn.
He said: “When I was flitting between labouring jobs I remember thinking I want to learn skills that I can pass on to him and also make him proud.
“And I’d be proud if he did an apprenticeship like me one day.”
Darryl Stewart, a former bricklaying apprentice, who is now Head of Commercial at NHBC praised our campaign.
He said: “It’s brilliant to see The Sun on Sunday’s initiative breaking down old stereotypes about apprenticeships and showing just how much they have to offer.
“With more than 250,000 extra construction workers needed by 2028, I would urge every builder and subcontractor to take on an apprentice.
“It’s not just good for business, it’s essential to protect the quality, professionalism and future of housebuilding for years to come.”
Lynn swaps high heels for hard hats
SINGLE mum Lynn Johnson was 53 when she quit her high-flying role in house sales to train for a job on a construction site.
Deciding she needed a fresh challenge, she swapped her office attire of lippy and high heels for a hard hat and hi vis jacket – and never looked back.
Lynn, now 57, from Burscough, West Lancs, said: “I’ve proved it’s never too late to change careers. It’s scary but you only live once, and I can’t recommend taking up an apprenticeship enough.
“I’d been doing sales for over 30 years and it was glamorous.
“Every time I would walk around in the company’s uniform people would think I was an air hostess, and I loved the job.
“I was on about £40,000. But I’d learned all I’d needed to know and I wanted to get outside my comfort zone.”
Lynn went to her boss at Persimmon Homes and persuaded them to let her take an 18-month, level 4 construction and management apprenticeship run by the National House Building Council.
This year, she was promoted to assistant site manager overseeing the building of new homes. And her son Charlie, 16, is an apprentice there, too.
Lynn said: “It doesn’t matter that I’m one of just three women here.
“You’re doing inspections, you’re up scaffolding, you’re dealing with delays.
“But it’s great seeing it all come together, and then the customers moving in and the joy that brings.
“You’re basically making a community, which is a really nice feeling.”
