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Big names back North East scheme to keep and attract built environment talent

A trio of national organisations are backing a North East scheme geared towards attracting talent into the region’s built environment industry.

Digital engineering hub BIM Academy, Sunderland-based engineering consultancy Desco and BIM specialist NBS have all signed up to become sponsors of PlanBEE.

Forged in an alliance between Gateshead College and Ryder Architecture last year, the scheme focuses on attracting and retaining the brightest new talent in the region, whilst plugging skills gaps.

Helen Whitfield, communications director at Ryder Architecture, explained the value of the initiative.

She said: “PlanBEE allows companies to benefit from a greater convergence of skills traditionally sat within the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, engineering, surveying and landscaping.

“Employers have been saying for quite a while now that the industry needed a new way of working and PlanBEE moves away from traditional, unfit-for-purpose training models to one which directly benefits industry and students.”

The first tranche of students enrolled onto the programme in September 2016 have all been retained, with a second cohort set to start in the autumn.

Rather than follow a traditional training model where students complete their qualifications while working in one company, PlanBEE gives trainees the chance to work across several companies and therefore gain a more rounded understanding of the built environment industry.

With Desco, NBS and BIM Academy now on board, students can subsequently benefit from a wider range of available expertise.

Chris Toon, deputy principal at Gateshead College which helps deliver the scheme, said: “We are thrilled to have BIM Academy, Desco and NBS on board at PlanBEE, which is tailored for and led by the specific needs of industry.

“We are working closely with the sector to ensure that the training provides companies with vital skills that enable them to become more productive and competitive, both now and in the long run.”

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