Floorsight™ apprentice profile: Rhys Parfitt

Last year, F. Ball launched the Floorsight™ apprenticeship programme, in partnership with the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) and WEBS training. Established to create careers pathways in flooring, the initiative involves training at the F. Ball Centre of Excellence combined with work at a partnering flooring contractor, with the first cohort enrolling last September. In this series for F-Talk, we get to know the young people set to be the future of flooring.

In this issue, we speak to Rhys Parfitt (19), F. Ball’s own apprentice installer, who is working alongside head of training Tim Green at the F. Ball Centre of Excellence.

Editor: Can you tell us how long you’ve been in flooring and what you’ve been doing so far?

Rhys: I’ve been working with Tim since September now, but prior to that I worked part-time in a bar and restaurant and for Port Vale for two years while studying football coaching and refereeing.

Since starting at F. Ball, I’ve learned the ins and outs of installing lots of different types of floorcoverings. Apart from at the Centre of Excellence, I’ve been out with tech rep Steve Lane seeing how he conducts site visits and produces reports, as well as helping organising and attending industry trade days and events.

Editor: What attracted you to a career in flooring?

Rhys: I wasn’t enjoying my first year at college and didn’t see a future in football – it involved a lot of time in the classroom. I was looking for an apprenticeship working with a flooring contractor, and Webs told me about this opportunity. There aren’t many young flooring installers, and flooring really makes a room.

Editor: What aspects of the apprenticeship and your day-to-day work do you enjoy the most?

Rhys: I get along with everyone. I’ve enjoyed the training and actually learning how to do things. I like passing on skills and knowledge of better ways of working to people.

Editor: What do you find challenging?

Rhys: Learning intricate skills involved in installing certain kinds of floorcovering, such as measuring and marking wood.

Editor: Finally, what you get up to when you’re not helping with training and technical support?

Rhys: I still like playing football with friends on Friday evenings and kickboxing on Tuesdays.

Find out more about the Floorsight™ apprenticeship scheme here.