Member Article

Laying the foundations for careers in construction

As National Apprenticeship Week comes to a close (3rd – 7th Feb), a partnership committed to regenerating and investing in Sheffield is celebrating creating 75 apprenticeships across the city.

Founded in 2011, Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) – a joint venture between Sheffield City Council, private sector construction partner Keepmoat Homes and Great Places Housing Group – has also created over 800 jobs and spent more than £80m with construction sector businesses in the region.

Its goal is to improve the quality and choice of housing in Sheffield, while creating jobs, encouraging investment and supporting the communities in which it works.

Contributing to the recruitment and retention of the 75 apprenticeship posts, is SHC’s support for initiatives including Better Learners, Better Workers (BLBW) and the Building Block.

One of 20 onsite training hubs, the Building Bock - funded by the Construction Skills Fund (CSF), coordinated by Sheffield City Council and with support from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) - is a unique partnership between housing development companies across the city to train local people to become site-ready for a job in construction.

Similarly, the Better Learners, Better Workers (BLBW) – supported by SHC and particularly its construction partner, Keepmoat Homes - is designed to show students approaching their GCSEs, the career options available in the building industry.

The programme started in 2010 when the Cutlers’ Company, which represents top engineering and manufacturing employers in Sheffield City region, undertook a study with Sheffield City Council into what employers needed from school leavers.

John Clephan Project Director with SHC said: “National Apprenticeship Week has been a time for us to reflect as an organisation and look back on the successes that our apprentices and the partnership have achieved. We are committed to working with communities, organisations, contractors and individuals within the city to help create training, education and job opportunities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .