While delivering the Chiltern Vale Health Hub in Bedfordshire we delivered a Building Lives Academy for our customer Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC).
Our goal was to provide careers support to young people in the area. The council identified a problem within this 16-18 year old age group was that individuals in this demographic were routinely from difficult backgrounds and as a result were often not actively in education or employment. Because of this, they often faced barriers to employment, education, and training.
Building Lives Academy
We installed a learning centre on site to provide Social Value activities and enrich the local community for the duration of the project. The learning centre was based on our Chiltern Vale site, but the programme also involved our Luton and Dunstable and Millfield Green projects which allowed us to support more young people.
We used the learning centre to hold a ‘Construction Traineeship programme’ in collaboration with the Prince’s Trust and JTL, a charity that provides work-based learning in the building services and engineering sectors. The charity focuses on young adults not in education who come from difficult backgrounds, typically with learning difficulties, in care, or with criminal records.
We provided three, eight-week programmes delivering Construction Traineeships. The programmes included:
- A work placement
- Level 1 Health and Safety award
- CCS card
- Classroom Maths and English coaching
- CV creation and support
- Mock interviews
- Introductions to hiring managers on our supply chain
Outcomes
In total we engaged with 24 students, of which 14 completed the entire programme.
- 10 students gained Level 2 Functional Skills Awards.
- 15 students gained Level 1 Award in Health & Safety in a Construction Environment.
- 12 students gained their CSCS Site Operatives Cards.
- Eight students have moved into employment, education, and further training.
- One student gained employment working on our Millfield Green project.
“I am extremely thankful for the entire opportunity and experience of the whole traineeship. I know myself quite well and without doing the traineeship, I know it would still be a long while till I worked up the courage to apply for jobs and follow through with it.
“It has done wonders for my confidence and my ability to follow through with tough decisions. I am more thankful than my words can express, truly…I am finally ready to step into the world of work, as silly as that sounds. Thank you again Matthew.”
Max McKenzie-Cook, General Construction Trainee
