Member Article

C&D Consultancy helps get young people into demolition

One of Wolverhampton’s leading training providers has been selected to help more than 20 young people in Derby and Nottingham into employment.

C&D Consultancy, an approved training provider for the National Demolition Training Group (NDTG), has teamed up with Groundwork Greater Nottingham to deliver specialist courses in asbestos awareness and NVQ Level 1 in Demolition, which gives participating individuals the skills and experience needed to work on any demolition site in the UK.

The two sessions, which are being supported as part of the Big Lottery funded Talent Match programme, targeted 18-24 year-olds who have been out of work, training and education for 12 months and who often suffer from a number of complex barriers.

They provided an interactive insight into the dangers of asbestos, as well as some of the basic skills and areas of expertise you will need to pursue for a career in demolition.

John Woodward, Managing Director of C&D Consultancy, commented: “Our sector is crying out for young talent to come through the ranks and this is an ideal opportunity to get people to think about a career in this industry.

“It’s a very exciting arena to be involved in, with lots of new technology being utilised and exciting projects being completed. The Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE) has just launched the first ever Demolition Degree that will start later this year.”

He continued: “We have joined forces with the National Demolition Training Group, Groundwork and Talent Match to deliver these courses in the East Midlands and the first ones will cater for 20 people. If these are successful, we’ll look to hold more.”

Experts from C&D Consultancy and the NDTG have developed the first course to give instructions on the hazards and dangers of working in areas where asbestos may be present, looking at the risks, how you identify it and how you can protect yourselves against it.

This was followed by the Level 1 NVQ Certificate of Competence for Demolition Operatives, a workshop that equips them with the initial skills required to carry out general labouring duties under supervision.

Both sessions were interactive with real life scenarios played out, whilst the latter featured a touch screen test that, if successfully completed, results in them receiving their Demolition Labourer Card.

Matt Hanrahan, Employment and Enterprising Development Worker at Talent Match, added his support: “The courses are a greater taster to the world of demolition and, importantly, gives our participants the opportunity to gain employment in a sector that is thriving and full of opportunities.

“C&D Consultancy were chosen due to their expertise, track record in this specific industry and the style of their trainers, which gets the best out of people.”

C&D Consultancy was formed by John Woodward in 2003 and has become one of the leading demolition specialists and industrial training providers in the country, coordinating projects across the UK and Europe every year.

A team of 8 experts advise on initial planning, project management and one-off consultancy, whilst up to 10 trainers are delivering more than 450 courses in health & safety and technical expertise every year to nearly 4700 people.

The company was also part of Talent Match’s mini Employment Fair held in April alongside the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), D2N2 LEP Joint Investment Strategy Construction Team and a number of local demolition and construction employers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .