Tuesday 10th January 2012 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force (CCATF) has teamed up with four construction organizations in Bristol to offer construction companies the opportunity to be paid £1000 to take on a first year construction student for 10 weeks work experience.
The Pathway to Construction scheme provides an opportunity to test a person’s suitability for employment so businesses can continue to invest, with confidence, in the skills that are vital to the future of the construction industry. The four organizations involved in Pathway to Construction Bristol are the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the Avon Construction Training Group, City of Bristol College and CITB-ConstructionSkills, and all of them are on the hunt for construction firms keen to get involved.
The aim is to match 10 full-time construction students from the City of Bristol College with local employers for a 10 week work experience placement. The students are currently in their first year of training in bricklaying, carpentry or painting and decorating courses. The employers that participate will each receive £100 per week to help cover the costs of providing valuable on site experience. If the placement is successful the employer will receive all of the support needed to take on their trainee as a fully employed apprentice.
Geoff Lister, Chairman of the CCATF, said:
“We launched the pilot Pathway to Construction scheme in Plymouth last year and it proved to be such a success that we have now brought it to Bristol to give more young people the opportunity to complete pre-apprenticeship work experience placements. In Plymouth full time apprenticeships were secured for four of the young people who took part in the Pathway to Construction scheme. We hope the scheme will achieve even better results in Bristol and give more young people the opportunity to complete an apprenticeship.”
Ron Willers, FMB South West Regional Director, said:
“Our members, typically small and medium sized local businesses, are telling us how tough things are for them so taking on an apprentice at this time is out of reach for many of them. The need for training doesn’t go away though, it is particularly vital for construction which has lost hundreds of thousands of skilled operatives due to the recent recession. Pathway to Construction offers local construction businesses an opportunity to find out if a first year student is suited to working for their company before making the commitment of taking them on as an apprentice.”
Mike Coleman, Head of Faculty Construction of City of Bristol College said,
“With nearly a million young people out of work or education we need to look for innovative ways to help secure their futures. Pathway to Construction gives young people the opportunity to gain valuable on-site experience and can potentially lead to a full-time apprenticeship which is the first step on their path to a career in the construction industry.”
If you would like more information, or would like to participate in the Pathway to Construction scheme in Bristol, please contact Vanessa Wilmut, Group Training Officer, of Avon Construction Training Group on 0117 953 5367 or email
Vanessa_actg@tiscali.co.uk.
