Member Article

Barratt Developments partners with award-winning Beacon of Light to bridge the skills gap across the North East

Barratt Developments, which includes both Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes brands, will be offering education to young adults across the North East with the launch of its Barratt Homes Construction Academy. This will take place within the award-winning facility, the Beacon of Light, in Sunderland.

Supporting Sunderland charity, Foundation of Light, the Barratt Homes Construction Academy is launching a wide range of educational programmes that will help its participants gain work-ready qualifications and practical experience within the construction sector this coming September.

As well as raising awareness of the varied and diverse roles that are available within construction, this new initiative will create a pipeline of talented young people who will possess the right skills for the next generation of the construction industry. In addition to bridging the construction skills gap and creating education opportunities across the North East, Barratt Homes Construction Academy will also encourage participants to be proactive in their career development. This will involve offering further education and training opportunities, work placements, apprenticeships or even employment with Barratt Homes.

The courses that are on offer to interested young people and adults will include:

Enterprise Programme

Aimed at those 14 years and older, the Enterprise Programme will engage with secondary school pupils to help develop their business and enterprise skills. In addition to this, pupils will also get the opportunity to improve their soft skill sets such as confidence, teamwork and communication, as well as the chance to achieve an Entry Level 3 Certificate in Business and Enterprise qualification.

Bespoke Enterprise Programme

Aimed at those 15 years and older, the Bespoke Enterprise course combines the above Enterprise Programme with an additional enterprise challenge related to skills required within Barratt Homes. As well as the chance to achieve an Entry Level 3 Certificate in Business and Enterprise qualification, the programme will also offer work placements to all those involved, enabling its participants to gain a deeper understanding of the construction industry.

Back on Track Programme Aiming to engage, inspire and educate young people aged 16-19, the Back on Track scheme will enable participants to improve their numeracy and literacy skills along with practical working experience over a time frame of 30 weeks.

The course will help students to achieve a variety of nationally recognised qualifications including BTEC Entry Level 3 60 GLH up to Level 2 Certificate in Personal Social Development, BTEC Level 1 Certificate in Construction (130 GLH) and access to IT Users Entry Level 3.

Back in the Game Programme

Designed to increase motivation and self-esteem amongst participants, Back in the Game is aimed at participants aged 19 years and older and will include a mixture of classroom, practical and physical activities that will enable participants to improve their employability prospects.

Over the ten-week course, participants will have the opportunity to achieve Level 1 Construction, up to Level 2 Maths and English, a two-week work placement and interviews with local employers.

Carl Sobolewski, Managing Director of Barratt Developments North East, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to be launching Barratt Homes Construction Academy with Foundation of Light this September. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support young people across the North East, helping to train the next generation of housebuilders. We look forward to seeing the academy come to life later this year and we strongly encourage anyone who is interested to apply.”

Phil King, Commercial Director at Foundation of Light, commented: “We’re over the moon to be supported by the Barratt Homes Construction Academy at the Beacon of Light. It’s a wonderful scheme that will produce fantastic results with all those involved, and we look forward to seeing the future generations of the construction industry develop right here in the heart of Sunderland.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Burman .