Member Article

NCT secures training contracts worth £1.4 million

Newcastle based Training Provider NCT has secured three major training contracts to deliver apprenticeships and support workforce development in the region.

Hull College Group, Newcastle College Group and Profound Services have each selected NCT as a key provider of apprenticeships, workforce development programmes and construction qualifications respectively.

The £150,000 contract with Hull College Group will see NCT deliver apprenticeships to arounf 20 learners, aged between 16-18 years old, from October this year. The apprenticeships in joinery and bricklaying are vital to continuing to provide the construction industry with a skilled workforce in order to reduce the skills shortage that the sector is currently facing.

Jamie Paterson, Director at NCT, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have increased our contract with Hull College Group by such a large margin. We recently completed delivery on an apprenticeship programme for the group, which was worth around £150,000 to the business, and our learners are on course to achieve 92% success rates compared to the national average of 75%. It is great that the hard work and dedication of our staff has helped us to achieve this kind of success. All the spaces for the next intake are filled with local learners which is a great advert for the commitment of the youngsters in the area to make that step into the world of work.”

The £250,000 contract with InTraining, which is part of the Newcastle College Group, is a European Union initiative to support workforce development.

NCT supports the needs of SME’s to safeguard jobs and maintain staff development. Bespoke classes are offered to meet the various needs in business, ranging from marketing to finance and social media.

Jamie Paterson added: “For businesses to maintain a low staff turnover and to keep up to date with best practice it’s really important to commit time to workforce development. NCT is already working with a number of clients on various projects although there is still some funding available so any interested parties should get in touch.”

A £1 million contract with Profound Services has seen an NCT collaboration with BIM Campus secure 100% fund growth to fund apprentices, adult learner responsive training (BIM/NVQ) and traineeships.

Due to legislation change all skilled operatives, regardless of extensive experience are legally required to secure a CSCS qualification and that is the main focus of the programme at present.

Jamie Paterson Commented: “There are undoubtedly some hugely experienced workers in the construction industry who have been making a living for years. These new regulations state that even people with significant experience need to legally have studied for a skills card. Our role is to work with those people to quickly and effectively help them achieve the CSCS qualification so they can continue to work legally. We’re working with major companies and SME’s to help them achieve these levels of best practice.

“Overall, we’re delighted to have secured these major contracts – the work we will do will help secure the future of the construction industry, not just by training the next generation of contractors but also by making sure those already in the businesses meet regulation standards and continue to learn about new processes.Whilst our initial remit was within the construction industry we now also offer apprenticeships that cover many areas including Hospitality, Business Administration, Social and Digital Media as well as Leadership and Management. It is fantastic for us to be delivering the next generation of employees to these sectors.”

For more information on NCT visit www.NCTSkills.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by NCT Skills .