Bridgend residents boost careers prospects on construction course
Leſt to right, Claire Dodd, Bridgend College; Lee Tomas, CITB; Claire Turner, DWP; Gethin Charles, Bridgend Job Centre; Wendy Lewis, Hafod; with some of the candidates who completed the course, Ceiron Ellis, Morgan Hayes, Betty Lee, Neil Doughty, Lloyd Davies, Liam Griffiths and Scot Lewis; Lucy Fitzpatrick, Inspire to Work; Nicola Murray, Lovell project skills co-ordinator.
A group of unemployed local residents are building careers in construction aſter successfully completing a new community training programme in Bridgend. Partnership homes developer Lovell and Hafod Housing organised the Prepare to Construct course, run in conjunction with Bridgend College, the local Job Centre, apprentice training company Y Prentis and Involve Recruitment.
New Homes and the South West Wales
Mackintosh House 136 Newport Rd, Cardiff. CF24 1JD
Sales: 029 2040 2740
Editorial: 029 2030 3900 email:
cardiff.advertiser@
virgin.net Design Studio: 029 2040 2742 email:
mary.advertiser@
virgin.net Fax: 029 2040 2744
Eleven trainees took part in the two-week course which included an introduction to different construction trades and health and safety training. Nine gained their Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, an essential requirement for anyone working on a construction site. Te candidates were also offered a week’s work experience on a major new homes development at Coychurch Road, Bridgend, where Lovell is building 48 affordable homes for Hafod. Te training programme was so successful that five of the trainees have now got jobs as labourers or apprentices with Lovell or through Y Prentis. Lovell is also looking to arrange training positions for the other candidates with some of its subcontractor partners. Another trainee is set to go to college and plans to return for further work experience with Lovell. Neil Doughty, from Pencoed, took part in the Prepare to Construct course aſter being made redundant from his job as a porter at Asda. “I’ve worked in construction before and the course has helped me get back into the industry,” says Neil, 44, who has been taken on as a labourer by Involve Recruitment at the Coychurch Road scheme. “Te course was
New Homes Wales and the South West
well-run and has enabled me to update my training and obtain my CSCS card. Aſter completing it, I did work experience at the Coychurch Road development and during that time, a vacancy came up which I was offered – it’s worked out really well and I’m very grateful for the help it’s given me to get back into the building business.” Lovell regional training advisor Darryl Williams says: “It’s great that so many of the people who completed the course are now either working in the industry or doing additional training to keep developing their skills. Providing training opportunities is a vital element of our contribution to the prosperity of local communities. We’re very pleased that the Prepare to Construct course has set so many people on the path to a construction career.” Cadwgan Tomas, head of development at Hafod, comments: “Te construction industry is currently facing a huge skills shortage making it increasingly hard to find the necessary resources to build the homes of the future. It is therefore crucial that organisations like Hafod continue to support programmes such as Prepare to Construct to ensure that people are provided with an opportunity to develop and maintain a career in construction.”
3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
