EN:Able Futures, one of 3 subsidiary companies of social housing consortium Efficiency North, is delighted to announce that its consortium, Construction Skills 4 Life (CS4L), has been awarded a contract to provide employment training and support across West Yorkshire. The contract and funding, provided by CITB in a programme called Pathways into Construction Fund, will enable CS4L to provide a minimum of 1,500 engagement opportunities across the region and support 144 young people through a Pre-Employment Course that will see them become Construction Industry ready in just 6 weeks.
The programme will run 12 courses across 4 West Yorkshire districts, Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, and Kirklees over a 21-month period, with the first intake expected to start in July 2019. In particular, CS4L is looking to target young people who are ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET) with a focus on those aged between 16-18. They are also interested in improving the gender imbalance within the industry and will strive to ensure that 25% of young people on the programme are female.
Delivered in the community within each Local Authority district, the programme will provide its learners with an NVQ Level 1 Introduction to Construction qualification, a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, and up to 2 weeks’ work experience within the construction industry.
Throughout the process, from the point of engagement and into their working life, Development Coaches provided by EN:Able Futures, one of Efficiency North’s 3 subsidiary companies specialising in apprenticeship services, will support learners with coaching and pastoral care. The coaches will also provide monitoring to record whether the learner has succeeded in being appointed to a full-time job or education course.
Graduates of the CS4L programme will all be guaranteed an employment interview within the industry. The aim is to ensure that at least 46 are employed following completion of the course through our partnership with CEG and through Level 2 Apprenticeships on EN:Able Futures’ award-winning Shared Apprenticeship Scheme.
This new contract follows the recent announcement of the Humber Construction Hub (HCH), run by EN:Able Futures. Funded by the Department of Education, the HCH is set to provide skills and training support in Hull and the surrounding area and will complement the work CS4L is undertaking in West Yorkshire.
CITB have allocated £10m to the Pathways into Construction Fund to support CITB levy paying companies with skilled people to enter the construction and built environment sector. CITB are intending to award a total 16 contracts across the UK as part of this programme.
Julie Deeley, Head of Operations, EN:Able Futures, said: “EN:Able Futures’ position in this important initiative continues the company's expansion into the provision of high quality training and apprenticeships through a site based construction skills hub. Our relationships with the construction supply chain will complement the delivery model and our experience in managing the region's shared apprenticeship scheme will assure the quality of the training provided. We are very much looking forward to developing the construction skills training opportunities for West Yorkshire communities.”