GROUNDBREAKING CONSTRUCTION HUB WILL BUILD FUTURE WORKFORCE

The City of Liverpool College has been awarded £500,000 by the Government’s Construction Skills Fund to create Liverpool’s first on-site ‘Construction Hub’, which will bridge the gap between skills training and employment in the construction industry.

The college will be working in partnership with Liverpool Waters, Peel Land and Property’s £5 billion waterfront development scheme, to bring the hub to the currently disused Collingwood Dock.

The Liverpool Waters project includes the development of numerous residential, commercial and leisure facilities across five distinct neighbourhoods, starting at Princes Dock and travelling north to Northern Docks.

With the creation of 9,000 homes, 315,000 sq.m of business space, a Cruise Liner Terminal, an Isle of Man Ferry Terminal and an accompanying hotel, the demand for skilled construction workers in Liverpool will be greater than ever.

By working together, The City of Liverpool College and Liverpool Waters will cater to this demand by providing unemployed adults and young people not in education or training (NEET) with work ready skills to enter jobs within Liverpool’s growing construction industry.

Work is now underway to create the portable facility at Collingwood Dock, part of the Liverpool Waters site, which will consist of three separate areas, two of which will be used for teaching space, with the third used for welfare and office space. In addition, the hub will provide the opportunity for college students to receive practical, work ready site-specific training in a real construction site environment.

The Hub will be open to unemployed people and young people who are NEET seeking a job in construction. The project will also provide taster opportunities to people in declining industries and in under-represented groups in the sector to promote construction as a career option.

Learners will have access to skills training to make them work ready for the construction industry. This includes access to site ready training, CSCS cards and ACS Gas Accreditation.  The Hub will also provide a gateway to construction qualifications and at all levels and apprenticeships up to degree level.

Employers working with the Hub will have direct access to the college’s extensive work ready and motivated talent pool to support their recruitment needs.

Elaine Bowker, principal at the City of Liverpool College, said:

“The City of Liverpool College is the college for business, so it’s only right that we are putting our learners at the very heart of one of Europe’s largest regeneration and development schemes.

“Having this construction hub on Collingwood Dock means that a City of Liverpool College facility will be sitting amongst some of the city region’s largest and most ambitious construction projects, each of which will require a talented and eager workforce.”

Ian Pollitt, assistant project director at Liverpool Waters, said:

“Our aim has always been to create a real and meaningful legacy, that provides a fantastic working environment for the city region’s young people, as well as a waterfront location that people enjoy living and working in.

“We are constantly finding new ways of working with The City of Liverpool College, to ensure our shared objective of training and developing the skills of the workforce of tomorrow is at the forefront of all our partners’ minds.”

This strategic partnership is one of 26 hubs across the country with access to the £22 million Construction Skills Fund, the purpose of which is to help train 17,000 young people to be job and site-ready by March 2020.

To learn more about the fund, please visit: https://www.citb.co.uk/funding/types-of-funding/structured-fund/construction-skills-fund/on-site-training-hub/.