Today saw the launch of the latest National Skills Academy for Construction project at the new National Construction College East London Waltham Forest campus providing hundreds of new training opportunities.
The National Skills Academy for Construction centre will help Londoners develop the right skills to continue to help deliver the major infrastructure programme and other crucial large-scale projects such as Crossrail and the Canary Wharf re-development over the coming years. The centre will offer 160 apprenticeships and 1000 adult training places each year in much needed trades including scaffolding, construction operatives, roofing specialisms, plant mechanics, interior systems and dry lining. The training on offer at the centre will evolve to meet the skills needs of specific projects as they progress through the construction lifecycle.
Over the next six months the centre is aiming to deliver training to 230 people through the entry into employment route, by working with the Waltham Forest Worknet service, a partnership that helps residents enter and develop in work through programmes that exist in Waltham Forest. The partnership is led by Waltham Forest Council and has support from Jobcentre Plus and Registered Social Landlords. The programme also offers a free screening and recruitment service to local businesses.
The centre has been granted National Skills Academy for Construction status by CITB-ConstructionSkills - the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry, and is being funded by the Skills Funding Agency, Waltham Forest London Borough Council, CITB-ConstructionSkills and the London Development Agency (LDA). The centre will be initially managed, and training delivered through the National Construction College (NCC), Europe’s largest construction training provider.
The facilities at the National Skills Academy for Construction Waltham Forest centre on Holydown Road will increase the capacity for training provision in construction for the whole of London and help to tackle long term levels of unemployment, as well as ensuring the capital avoids future skills shortages. The Waltham Forest Construction Training Centre will play a key role in providing training for the large scale infrastructure work and other major projects in London, and will complement the training provided at the NCC’s other London campuses at Thames House Newham , Erith and Beckton Park in Newham.
National Skills Academy for Construction is a fresh approach to learning - harnessing the training opportunities provided when the whole supply chain comes together on major construction projects - with this project bringing together a number of partners, including local authorities, to recruit new entrants to the industry as well as helping qualify the existing workforce.
Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: “We are delighted to be involved in launching this new centre through our training division, the National Construction College. We commend the London Borough of Waltham Forest for their commitment to skills and employment and have been working with them and our delivery partners for some time to ensure that we have found the best location to deliver effective training that will qualify the workforce and offer sustainable employment opportunities for the local community. The centre will provide quality training to meet the skills needs of the industry and those working within it, and will complement our other training centres in the region.”
Waltham Forest Council leader, Cllr Chris Robbins, said: “This is a fantastic, world-class training facility for local residents and people from across east London which will play a vital role in helping us benefit from the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Facilities such as these improve the education and training of our residents and improve their chance of finding employment now and in the future.”
With one in six construction workers having no formal qualifications and two thirds of employers reporting problems finding sufficiently skilled and experienced staff, initiatives such as the National Skills Academy for Construction training centre will be vital in helping meet the region’s construction needs.
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