1,000 new construction jobs and free training available thanks to partnership between The Skills Centre and O’Halloran & O’Brien

Leading construction training specialist The Skills Centre, has partnered with major building contractor O’Halloran & O’Brien to attract 1,000 people to new jobs on various construction projects around the Greater London area.

A free, three-week, industry-led construction training programme will be offered when lockdown ends to all that apply, together with a guaranteed job interview for work on a number of major London building projects.

No previous experience in the sector is needed, just enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. Those with experience and a CSCS card will have access to immediate work on Covid-safe sites.

Construction sites remain fully open during the Covid lockdown; they have strict Covid-safe protocols in place to ensure working on site is not just productive but also protects all workers – and this has been emphasised recently by the UK Government, which has underlined the importance of keeping construction sites open across the country and therefore, the abundant opportunities available immediately to people looking for work.

Jon Howlin, Chief Executive of The Skills Centre, explained that this is a great opportunity for anyone who might have lost their job recently, or are worried about what the future holds after the furlough scheme ends: “The pandemic has decimated many industries such as hospitality, aerospace and manufacturing, to name but a few. What we are offering here is an amazing chance for people of all ages and from all walks of life to get free, top-notch training with our experienced construction experts though our site-ready programme. Not only that, but candidates are guaranteed a job interview at the end of it.

“It has been great to partner with the O’Halloran & O’Brien on this project, and we encourage those who have been dealt a bad hand in the past few months to consider this chance for a new career.

“This scheme provides a foot-in-the-door to construction jobs all over London – 2020 has been a very difficult year for construction and we look forward to training tomorrow’s construction workers and helping to get the industry back on its feet, including setting up apprenticeships for many that complete the initial training programme and make a good start on site.”

All those who complete and pass the three-week course will get a Green Labourers CSCS card, Level 1 Award in Health & Safety in a Construction Environment, and Construction health and safety certificates (including manual handling).

And, on following the training, they will be guaranteed a job interview for one of the hundreds of jobs on offer – including shuttering-carpenters, steel-fixers, pipe-layers, ground-workers and strikers throughout the Greater London area.

For people who already have experience of working in construction and carry a CSCS card, there are also opportunities for a new job directly on-site, without the need to do the training course.

Martyn Price MBE, Workforce Development Director from O’Halloran & O’Brien Ltd and Chairman of the Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force said: “It’s not every day that we get to take on 1,000 new people to start their careers in construction. The industry really needs investment in new people joining the sector and so we are incredibly excited to see this programme begin.

“Our commitment to training is the bedrock of our business and builds on our strong foundations to deliver a safe, competent and qualified workforce for the future, and we look forward to strengthening the construction workplace with well-trained new recruits through this fantastic joint initiative with The Skills Centre.

“Once these new workers have settled into their roles, we will then look at their on-going up-skilling and development needs to help every one of them develop a longstanding career with us in the construction industry. In addition to the up-skilling programme our wider ambition would include increasing the breadth of quality apprenticeship placements currently on offer at OHOB.”

The initiative is supported by the Construction Skills Fund, which was established in October 2018 to train a site-ready workforce, to meet the needs of the construction industry.

The £20 million Construction Skills Fund comprises £17 million from the Department for Education (DfE) and £3 million from CITB. In its first year of operation the CSF helped create 26 new on-site training hubs across England, of which 14 of the hubs have been approved to continue operating to June 2021.

CITB’s Strategy & Policy Director Steve Radley said: “The creation of 1,000 new construction jobs in London would be a fantastic achievement as the country continues to deal with the pandemic, and every one of those 1,000 jobs will mark a turning point in that new recruit’s life. Construction urgently needs skilled new workers to build the houses, hospitals and infrastructure Britain needs to rebuild its economy, so congratulations to The Skills Centre and O’Halloran & O’Brien in providing this brilliant initiative.”

The training take place in six different centres across London and the South east, in Brixton, Barnet, Bermondsey, Earls Court, Elephant and Castle and Gravesend.

Anyone interested in applying should go to https://theskillscentre.co.uk/welcome-to-a-new-start-in-construction