A flagship initiative to boost skills and support people into a future career in the construction industry has been launched in Telford and Wrekin.
Telford & Wrekin Council, Lovell Partnerships, Telford College and Nuplace (a wholly-owned council company) have joined forces to launch Built By You – a new recruitment and skills programme which could pave the way for future employment.
Construction provides huge job opportunities and types of work ranges from practical trades like carpentry, bricklaying and architecture to project management and civil engineering.
Over the next few years, Telford & Wrekin Council, Nuplace, Lovell Partnerships and a number of other local housing partners will be delivering a significant number of new build, mixed tenure housing schemes across Telford providing many job opportunities.
In recognition of this, and in response to the construction skills crisis faced by many organisations, partners have come together to launch Built By You to ensure local people can benefit from training and on-site placements and work experience equipping them for a career in construction.
The initiative has been developed to be replicated across future projects by Lovell to support the national skills gap and to attract the next generation of built environment specialists.
For the launch site, Telford College will provide the programme funding, training and facilities at the college for the taught part of the programme, while Lovell Partnerships will offer practical, on-site work experience opportunities and placements.
Up to 10 candidates will come through the skills programme at any one time and there will be up to four opportunities to join each year, with each programme running from Monday to Friday for four weeks.
To mark the launch, partners from across the borough have been invited to a Meet the Buyer event at Telford College on Wednesday February 14 , from 8am to 10am.
The event will give attendees the opportunity to learn more about the Built By You programme and give organisations the opportunity to be part of the initiative. It will also help them learn more about some of the housing developments that are being delivered by partners throughout the borough.
Councillor Eileen Callear, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Education, Employment and Visitor Economy, said: “The launch of Built By You’is exciting news for employers and jobseekers across the borough.
“Through the new programme, people will be introduced to careers in housing construction and benefit from training and work experience which could offer them a route into full-time employment.
"Built By You is the perfect platform for people to learn new skills to support the construction industry’s future workforce and take part in training and practical experience for specific trades such as carpentry, bricklaying and architecture.”
Refreshments will be provided at the Meet the Buyer event which takes place at Telford College, The Orange Tree, Haybridge Road, Wellington, TF1 2NP.
Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for Homes & Enforcement, said: “There are many housing initiatives which are being delivered across the borough or are currently in the pipeline.
“This is a fantastic partnership initiative which aims to address the shortfall of housing construction skills locally and across the UK so we are better equipped for the future to meet our housing needs.”
Stuart Penn, regional managing director at Lovell, said: “We’re committed to building homes in areas where people want to live and future-proofing those communities by tackling issues identified by our partners.
“Built By You is the first step in engaging the next generation of built environment experts by demonstrating the broad range of careers within construction and giving them invaluable experience or a route directly into work.
“We’re pleased to be working alongside Telford and Wrekin Council and Telford College to deliver the first Built by You initiative – we are also looking for partners to drive it further forward. We want to encourage more construction firms to get involved and use this scheme to their advantage as a strong recruitment tool and as an opportunity to support the next generation.”
Janet Stephens, Telford College’s deputy chief executive, said: “Companies want to recruit and retain the best quality staff to grow and thrive, and it’s the role of education to work closely with them to make it possible.
“Our most important objective here at Telford College is to deliver students with the calibre and skills sets that local businesses need – working together is the best way to get there.”
