Member Article

Profound Services supports young people into construction jobs

ONE of the North East’s leading training and apprenticeship providers has supported 69 young people into secure employment in the construction industry.

Profound Services in Peterlee delivered an eight-week training and work placement programme designed to give young people the skills industry employers are looking for.

The ‘Traineeship’ programme, which was delivered in late 2014, was aimed at 16-18 year-olds and included work preparation training, English and Maths, and a high quality work experience placement.

Of the 100 learners who completed the course, 69 have subsequently secured employment within the construction industry in the North East and are now further developing their careers via an apprenticeship.

Steven Ward, Managing Director of Profound Services, said: “The Traineeship programme was organised to address the skills gap which currently exists within the construction industry in our region, and to provide the skills and work experience that young people and employers require and benefit from prior to employment.

“The jobs are there and our task was to ensure that young people gained the skills and work placement experience that offered them the best chance to enter into employment.

“We would like to thank Northern Construction Training who worked with us to help secure work placements and the subsequent delivery of the apprenticeship programme.

“One hundred people completed the traineeship programme and already 69 have secured jobs which is extremely satisfying. These are young people who signed up to the course to better themselves, become job ready, and learn a trade that would enable them to take their first step on the career ladder. We’ve helped them achieve that.”

Profound Services is based at Bracken Hill Business Park in Peterlee and delivers apprenticeships, work-based learning opportunities, job focused employability programmes and careers education and guidance for schools.

The company is now looking at delivering additional Traineeship programmes and is currently consulting with Northern Construction Training about further work placements.

Steven Ward added: “We want to deliver courses and programmes that meet the needs of industry and employers. We know there is an ageing workforce within certain sectors in the North East and if we can help address this, everybody wins - young people because there’s a real chance of a job at the end, and employers because there’s a readymade pool of talent for them to access to fulfil their recruitment needs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Leanne English .