Hands-on experience
A construction student at West Nottinghamshire College has joined the team managing the delivery of the college’s new Future Tech Skills & Knowledge Exchange for hands-on work experience.
Archie Martin, 17, is spending one day a week on the site of the hub, which is being built by Clegg Construction at the college’s Chesterfield Road campus in Mansfield.
His role from now until the project’s completion next summer includes assisting in the delivery of inductions, capturing progress photos, shadowing project manager Andy Turner and contracts manager Lyndon Bowler and gaining hands-on experience from key trades on site including roofers, masons and window and door installers.
Martin, who is undertaking a T-Level Design, Surveying & Planning course, will also spend time at Clegg Construction’s head office in Nottingham. Here he will have access to some of the other areas of the business, including the company’s pre-construction department where he will learn about bid writing and planning processes.
Martin, who will spend a total of 315 hours working with the company, said: “I’ve already learnt some valuable skills by spending time with Clegg Construction and the team delivering the Future Tech Skills & Knowledge Exchange. I’m very grateful to have been given this opportunity and look forward to the next phases of development over the coming weeks and months.”
Clegg Construction managing director Michael Sims said: “It is very important to Clegg Construction that we support young people in their training and help the next generation of construction professionals. During his time with us, Archie is gaining valuable hands-on experience alongside his college training.
“The Future Tech Skills & Knowledge Exchange that we are delivering for West Nottinghamshire College will be a focal point for T-levels, which is the kind of qualification that Archie is studying, so it is very apt that he is learning some relevant skills by joining us during delivery of the development.”
Kelly Hammond, work placement engagement advisor at West Nottinghamshire College, said: “Work placements are extremely valuable to our students – giving them real-life experiences which helps them with their learning and also to secure employment in the future. We are very grateful to Clegg Construction and the team delivering our new Future Tech Skills and Knowledge Exchange for providing this opportunity for Archie.”
Her comments are echoed by Gavin Peake, director of IT, estates and learning resources at the college. “This placement is a great example of our partnership with a local company and how we work with businesses to train our students,” he said.
“Not only does this sort of placement equip students with the skills and knowledge needed in their chosen field, it also has an important role in helping to create a skilled workforce that supports employers in their future development.”
Clegg recently completed erection of the steel frame for the £8.8m skills hub and is now completing the external elevations, masonry work, the installation of windows and doors, and the completion of roof coverings.
The project is being funded through a £4.3m allocation from Mansfield District Council’s Towns Fund, £3.8m from the Education and Skills Funding Agency as part of the second phase of its Further Education Capital Transformation Fund, and £734,000 from the college and Nottingham Trent University.
Boot kick-starts social value initiative
Today’s building contractors have a lot of boxes to tick before they can get down to the business of construction.
There’s the net-zero box, the 10% environmental net gain box and there’s the social value box to name but three – all relatively new requirements for any modern development.
And what more social value can a contractor offer than to get its client and the local community engaged – not just informed but actively engaged – in the project itself?
Contractor Henry Boot thinks it has found a new way of doing just this and at the same time inspiring the next generation of construction professionals.
Boot is currently building a ‘net-zero carbon’ sports facility at Minsthorpe Community College in West Yorkshire. Besides hitting the obligatory carbon-reduction target, the company is hoping to add a generous helping of social value through the creation of a Student Construction Council Partnership.
This is a student-led body, encompassing the school’s full age-range from 11 to 18, set up to oversee a programme designed to empower students to influence and monitor the project’s social value strategy.
According to Henry Boot, this makes the student body the project’s main interface between the contractor, the school, the Department for Education and the local community.
“Of course, we’ve always had ‘social value’ – it just wasn’t called that,” says the company’s responsible-business manager Jack Kidder. “Like all contractors we did the school visits and community engagement events but this is different; we’ve created a constant process of involvement.”
At Henry Boot’s suggestion the school identified 20 students whom it felt would benefit most from involvement in the construction project and they became the student ambassadors.
The project, which involves construction of a new sports hall plus refurbishment and improvement of existing facilities, has been running for about a year and is due for completion in April or May this year.
To date, the partnership has provided student-designed hoardings, organised a ‘Women in Construction’ event, sponsored local football teams, set up a girls’ football team, supported a local food bank, revitalised a local pond area and organised work experience for fellow students.
“The partnership acts as champions to the greater school community,” says Kidder. “It has helped to create a lot of goodwill and develop relationships. After all, it wasn’t the school that commissioned this project, it was the Department for Education.
“This initiative has given the school community ownership of their project to the extent that they feel they are taking an active role in it rather than having it ‘done to them’.”
The community initiatives created by the partnership have all been student-led, says Kidder. “It’s had a real impact on their experience at college and it means that they can look at the finished project and say ‘we did that’,” he adds.
Henry Boot is keen to continue building its relationship with the school – even after completion of the project, according to Kidder:
“We want our legacy to be more than just a great sports facility. We will continue to visit, continue to enlist students as champions – maybe even provide financial support in the form of something like an annual award,” he says.
“Personally, I’d love to think that some of these students will one day join the industry and wear a Henry Boot jacket.”
The company is keen to roll out similar initiatives to other projects. “With social value there’s always the danger that it becomes just a box to tick. But at Minsthorpe, we’ve been able not just to meet our social value KPIs; it’s also proved beneficial in opening up a pool of talent, getting young people engaged and giving them ownership of the project,” says Kidder.
“None of this on its own is revolutionary, but the way we’ve done it is different and it provides a blueprint for the future. It’s shown that when you start on a project, the first thing you have to build is relationships.
“Another thing is that it doesn’t cost the earth. All it requires is time and a willingness to work together. It’s a very cost-effective model,” Kidder adds.
Costain launches recruitment drive
Costain has announced plans to recruit more than 180 graduates and school leavers to help with a growing pipeline of work.
The company is offering early careers roles to more than 60 graduates, 90 apprentices and 30 interns and students on university placements. The recruits are needed to help Costain tackle its growing workload: it has recently secured long-term AMP8 framework contracts with Northumbrian Water, United Utilities and Southern Water, and contracts to build a CO2 gathering network and design a hydrogen system as part of the East Coast Cluster in Teesside.
The new recruitment drive will cover all of Costain’s industry sectors including road, rail, integrated transport, energy, water and defence. It will include a variety of disciplines including civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, quantity surveying, consultancy and project management.
Costain’s graduate programme lasts two years and its apprentices complete a programme lasting one to six years depending on the level of study. Both programmes allow candidates to rotate around projects across multiple sectors all over the UK.
The company’s internships and university placements last from three to 12 months. It also offers work experience opportunities and T-Level placements for those at school or college.
Costain covers the full cost of professional development charterships through industry bodies such as the institutions of Civil Engineers (ICE), Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
Catherine Warbrick, chief people & sustainability officer at Costain, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our graduates, apprentices and those who join Costain on a work placement. More than ever, we’re looking for fresh ideas and innovative thinkers to make a real impact for our customers, which we know is essential for shaping, creating and delivering sustainable infrastructure that improves people’s lives.
“The fact that we’re able to welcome such a healthy intake of graduates and apprentices is reflective of our strong pipeline of work in the coming years. We will continue to invest in our people in line with our growth and provide an environment that offers learning and development opportunities for all.”
The 2025 cohort will include the continuation of Costain’s partnership with the Nuclear Graduates programme, carried out by Energus (a specialist energy-sector training centre located in Workington) on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
This year saw the first cohort of Costain’s nuclear graduates join the programme. These recruits are now getting experience of some of the UK’s most complex and critical nuclear infrastructure projects in three secondments over a two-year period, including positions in engineering, project controls and decommissioning.
Craig Ivison, head of people and skills at Energus, said: “Skills are at the heart of developing the nuclear sector of the future. With decommissioning, new build projects and new technology driving demand for new skills, the sector needs graduates and apprentices to meet workforce needs.
“Costain has demonstrated a keen willingness to become a partner of the Nuclear Graduates programme and we’re very happy to be able to showcase the opportunities across the portfolio of projects to our graduates.”
Costain’s graduate vacancies are now open; they close at the end of March 2025. Apprenticeship vacancies will open in February through to April, while internship and placement opportunities will open in March.
High-tech hub brings housing tech to students
Birmingham City University (BCU) has opened a demonstration centre to give students access to the latest technological developments in house-building and design.
The new facility, in BCU’s Millennium Point building, has been set up by the university’s Centre for Future Homes with money from UKRI’s Regional Innovation Fund.
It features a range of all-electric heat systems, including heat pumps, hot water storage, panel radiators, photo-voltaics and underfloor heating, as well as ventilation options to help the more airtight homes breathe, and walling fabric options to increase thermal insulation.
“We’re thrilled to have a new research and education hub to showcase technologies that will be used in future homes,” said Dr Monica Mateo-Garcia, who co-founded the Centre for Future Homes in 2021.
“It’s an essential space for research collaborations and professional development training to upskill students and industry,” she added.
Professor Hanifa Shah, executive dean of the university’s faculty of computing, engineering and the built environment, said: “The centre exemplifies the spirit of our new strategy – creating knowledge for good and producing future-ready graduates.
“By collaborating with industry, our staff and students carry out applied research that benefits the region and our communities and helps us influence policy. Long may this continue.”
M&J Evans launches specialist groundworks course
Earthmoving contractor M&J Evans has launched what it believes is the construction industry’s first bespoke groundworks apprentice programme.
The programme, developed in partnership with the National House Building Council (NHBC), was launched at the National School and College Leavers Festival at the Birmingham NEC last November.
Designed to give apprentices first-hand experience of what it is like to work on a live M&J Evans site, the course will be administered jointly by the contractor and NHBC. Successful candidates will be awarded a Level 2 groundworks contractor qualification on completion.
Darryl Stewart, who runs NHBC’s apprentice training programme, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with M&J to create a supply of talent for the house-building industry while making a positive impact on the lives of apprentices.
“Our nationwide network of NHBC training hubs offers a realistic work environment. Our expert trainers are committed to developing top industry talent, ensuring apprentices are trained to meet NHBC standards.”
Stewart added that NHBC is shaking up house-building training with a £100m investment in 12 new multi-skill training hubs across the UK, to support more than 3,000 apprenticeships a year.
“As our hubs will initially focus on key trades including groundwork, bricklaying, and site carpentry, we are delighted to collaborate with M&J Evans to help shape the future of the UK’s house-building industry,” he said.
The M&J Evans apprenticeship will take between 14 and 16 months to complete and will include a blend of on-the-job learning, classroom-based learning at the company’s training hub in the West Midlands as well as practical learning at the NHBC training hub. Each apprentice is assigned a mentor, giving them a go-to person to assist with both learning and personal support.
M&J Evans’ people director Judith Marriott said: “This is not just an apprenticeship, it’s not just a job – it’s the start of a career and the beginning of a journey as a member of the M&J family.”
Skills hub celebrates a grand milestone
Balfour Beatty Flannery, a partnership between the tier-one contractor and Flannery Plant Hire, has trained its 1,000th student at its purpose-built Operator Skills Hub in Birmingham.
Abigail Cleverley is now qualified to operate articulated dump-trucks and rollers and has started work on Balfour Beatty Vinci JV’s HS2 project in the West Midlands.
Established in 2021 and supported by the government’s Skills Bootcamp initiative, the skills hub specialises in training and apprenticeship schemes for plant operators.
One of the priorities of the Operator Skills Hub is to attract new talent to the sector. According to Balfour Beatty Flannery, typically 5% of its trainees are women, 13% are young people, 27% were previously unemployed, 12% have disabilities, 4% are ex-offenders and 5% are military veterans.
In addition, the facility provides 200 supplementary courses for current plant operators to further upskill them for work with ‘digitally-enabled’ construction equipment and methods.
Completing her training at the Operator Skills Hub was “an incredible experience,” said Cleverley. “The hands-on approach and state-of-the-art equipment gave me the confidence and skills I need to succeed in this industry now and in the future,” she said.
Andy Ormerod, managing director of Balfour Beatty Asset & Technology Solutions, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing here in partnership with Flannery. Together, we’re opening doors to meaningful careers for people from all backgrounds—many of whom might never have seen construction and infrastructure as an exciting career path until they joined us.”
Willmott Dixon seeks future leaders
Willmott Dixon is launching a drive to recruit 30 management trainees across a range of disciplines.
The company wants to attract school leavers and graduates to fill key roles in construction management, quantity surveying, design management, M&E, IT, health & safety, business development, estimating and planning, as well as year-out placement opportunities.
Willmott Dixon’s training programme was established in 1979 as a fast-track way to train its future leaders – and it seems to have worked: Graham Dundas, who joined the company in 1998 as a management trainee, was appointed as chief executive last year.
And Stewart Brundell, who was the company’s first ‘trainee of the year’ in 1989, is now managing director of Willmott Dixon’s London & East region.
New roles are now available across Willmott Dixon’s network of offices in England and Wales. The recruitment drive is part of the company’s annual investment of £2.5m to train its people and equip them with the skills to enjoy what it hopes will be the ‘career of a lifetime’ at Willmott Dixon.
The company currently has 85 trainees undertaking the programme, which takes between two and five years (depending on entry point) and allows them to earn a salary while studying for a professional qualification. Willmott Dixon says that its trainees get experience of all areas of the business to develop their understanding of construction.
Willmott Dixon was recently the highest-placed construction contractor in the FT Diversity Leaders list and one of only two included in this year’s The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality guide.
The company is looking to hear from people with a “real passion” for working in construction. The application process requires candidates to submit a video interview in the first instance; those selected are then invited to meet the team at a special assessment day.
Graduation celebrations for QTS rail academy
Students at the QTS Rail Skills Academy in East Kilbride have completed their studies and are now qualified to start working in the rail industry.
Eleven young people completed the course, which is funded by South Lanarkshire Council and delivered by QTS Training on behalf of Network Rail.
The training programme was launched in July 2024 and delivered over a 10-week period via both classroom study and on-track work experience.
The course was designed to equip the students with the knowledge, skill and experience required to work safely and effectively in the railway maintenance sector. It focused on core topics such as health & safety, track safety and track induction, and included the SQA Level 4 Practical Skills for Employment qualification.
The students were presented with their certificates during a graduation event held at East Kilbride Football Club with Scottish transport secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP in attendance.
As part of the graduation celebration, potential employers took part in a speed recruitment event, with each young person given the opportunity to be interviewed for a potential job with companies including QTS, Story Contracting, AmcoGiffen, SPL Powerlines and Network Rail.
Lorna Gibson, director of QTS Training said: “We are so incredibly proud of the young people who have grasped this opportunity with both hands. They have worked so hard over these 10 weeks and to see them grow and develop has been a very rewarding experience.
“This is the eighth Rail Skills Academy that we have run and I’m so proud of the fact that we have a 97% employment rate, which I am sure will continue after today’s event.”
Keepmoat backs plastering academy
Top 12 house-builder Keepmoat has teamed up with a local contractor and further education college to launch a dedicated training academy for plastering apprenticeships on Merseyside.
The SPL Change Academy, in Knowseley, was set up in partnership with Liverpool-based Sterling Plastering and Hugh Baird College, located in nearby Bootle.
The SPL Change Academy offers Level 1 and Level 2 NVQ plastering courses, supported by tutors from Hugh Baird College. To provide an authentic training environment, Keepmoat has provided the academy with a mock-up of a standard timber-frame house.
“The Keepmoat team has also created a traditional working environment of closed rooms, where the students will carry out their training in place of small open bays,“ said Peter Barlow, regional managing director at Keepmoat North West.
“The team is also set to deliver a series of site skills-focused employability sessions, in order to help bridge the gap between college and site work,” he added.
Industry opens doors to new recruits
Build UK and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) are encouraging employers to reach out to potential recruits through the 2025. Open Doors event, taking place in March.
Open Doors is an annual event, delivered by the CITB, Build UK and CSCS ,that offers members of the public the chance to go behind the scenes of live construction sites, offices, factories and training centres to see how the industry works and what career opportunities it offers.
According to the CITB, employers that register for Open Doors and provide a shop window for the industry put themselves in a prime position to attract and retain new workers, and demonstrate the benefits of pursuing a career in construction.
In particular, the event offers an opportunity for construction industry SMEs to attract new apprentices, says the CITB. More than two-thirds of apprenticeship starts in the construction industry are employed by companies of fewer than 50 employees, demonstrating how important a strong pipeline of apprenticeships are for smaller construction employers,” she added.
Employers that register for Open Doors are encouraged to consider what interactive experiences and learning opportunities will be most attractive for young people. This could be providing practical demonstrations or having employees explain the differences in their roles and responsibilities.
Registration for the event opened in October 2024 and visitor bookings open this month (January 2025). The event itself takes place from 17th to 22nd March 2025.
Deb Madden, executive director, nations engagement at CITB said. “The industry needs to recruit 50,000 new entrants a year and Open Doors provides a unique opportunity for young people and those looking for a change of career to go behind the scenes and see just what the industry has to offer.
“It's also a great opportunity for SMEs to get involved and showcase their sites. A healthy construction industry requires thriving SME employers as they’re crucial to establishing a strong pipeline of apprentices and new entrants.”
Open Doors engaged with more than 5,000 potential new entrants across 220 sites in March 2024 and Julie White, chair of Build UK, is hoping that feat will be emulated in 2025:
“Seeing people experience a construction project or workplace for the first time and hearing the words ‘wow I never knew this role existed’ is why we run Open Doors,” said White.
“As an industry we needed tens of thousands of new recruits before the government announced its new target to build 1.5 million new homes, and so it’s more important than ever that we are showcasing the wide range of career opportunities available across the supply chain.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
