On Wednesday, 26^th October, hub South West teamed up with Princes Trust Scotland and Ayrshire College to launch the ‘Your Future Starts in Construction’ Programme. 

Supported by CITB and Tier-1 Contractor Kier, this new bespoke course is aimed primarily at school pupils who are deemed as Winter leavers and allows candidates to experience a range of practical trades across the construction industry together with training which enables them to attain CSCS registration, thereby enhancing their employability skills.  

Prior to the programme launch, schools across Ayrshire were asked to send a number of appropriate pupils along to Ayrshire College for an Induction day, which involved a practical task together with a visit to a live building site, where each pupil was assessed on their suitability for this course.

The initial 15 candidates have now been selected and have begun attending Ayrshire College one day a week for the duration of 8 weeks where their morning session will consist of CSCS training and the afternoon activities will include hands on practical tasks ranging across carpentry, joinery and painting and decorating.

Once these 8 weeks are complete, candidates will then attend college for a full week in order to gain knowledge on career planning, interview skills, practicing leadership with others and CV writing, and will also sit their CSCS test.

For those students who pass this assessment, they will have the opportunity to work on an active construction site for a full week and progress on a trade specific course within Ayrshire College.  

Charlotte McDonnell, Skills Academy Development Manager, hub South West added; “Opportunities like this particular course are so important for young people at a critical point in their career path, providing inspiration for their destination beyond school.

The construction trade offers a broad spectrum of roles and it’s important that young people are given the opportunity to explore the variety within our industry at a practical level.

Courses like this are fantastic for challenging perceptions with the potential to inspire the next generation of built environment professionals.”

Jim Bennett, Head of Construction Technology and Trades at Ayrshire College, said “We are delighted to welcome so many potential tradespeople to our College through this innovative new Employability Programme.

What we have seen so far has been very promising and we look forward to working extensively with the group.”

Lee Johnstone, Head of Corporate Partnerships, The Prince’s Trust Scotland said;
“Ayrshire has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in Scotland..  This project seeks to prepare young people for future employment by opening up their understanding of vocational pathways into the construction industry and ultimately helps them become part of the industry’s future talent pool.”

Brian McQuade, Managing Director of Kier Construction in Scotland commented:

“Construction makes a huge impact on our lives and forms a fundamental part of our economy, but there is a real skills shortage in the industry.  Kier supports many initiatives to attract and retain future talent and improve employability for this important sector.   This trade programme is a really good example of providing an inspiring taste of the industry at a key point in young people’s lives and improving employability prospects at the same time.”