As a leading provider of choice of training and qualifications in the industry, Central Construction Training excels in providing traineeships, apprenticeships and courses to ensure those working on building sites across the country are at the appropriate industry standard.
In the first of a two-part interview with UK Construction Media, Central Construction Training explains its services, how courses can help alleviate the skills shortage, and what the Company’s apprenticeship training provides.
Could you tell us a bit about Central Construction Training and what you offer clients?
Now into our fourth year, we offer a wide range services and unparalleled industry experience.
Our Managing Director has got 30+ years in the construction industry, starting with the trade and working his way up. His grassroots, if you like, are in roofing. However he has owned and managed maintenance and groundworks companies over the years. So there’s general all-round construction knowledge.
His 15 years of background and experience in construction training has seen him to work his way up, through the likes Carillion, where he headed up the National Construction College.
From there, CCT was born, and currently, in its fourth year, is a thriving business.
In 2014 we trained and tested over 5,000 candidates in vocational CSCS and CPCS assessments. We are proud to deliver construction apprenticeships to local companies in the West Midlands area with over 125 apprentices placed in full time work with access to outstanding training resources and facilities at our Birmingham training academy.
We are delighted to announce that 2015-16 will see CCT Ltd increase funding for apprentices by £1.2M, affording us the opportunity to train a further 200 operatives for a rewarding career in the construction industry.
The background of the MD would suggest there is loads of experience in terms of what you can offer as a company.
The key for us is the grassroots; not only in our management staff, but also up the management structure and including the Board and, more significantly, with delivery staff. You would like to think everyone working in the construction training industry would have established grassroots but that is not always the case. There are many recruitment companies, colleges and private training organisations that turn to construction with very little knowledge of the industry.
So for us, the occupational staff we employ, such as testers, trainers, assessors and instructors all have roots in the industry. Not only having taught the trade, but having done it themselves which is incredibly important to us in the business.
What do you feel you can offer the industry?
When you’re looking at grassroots, you’re looking at the guidance given out on a day-to-day basis to clients over the phone; having that industry knowledge and occupationally competent people on the line who know the industry inside out.
At any given point, we have several industry-accredited instructors and assessors in the main office to take telephone calls, so we’re giving top level advice on the spot. It’s advice from people who understand the industry.
Regarding construction skills shortage, is this linked to courses you run? Is there a problem in the industry?
There is definitely growth in construction skills, which is obvious with the contracts and investment in the industry, but we have to appreciate that as a country we are still coming out of a recession and recovery is slow.
But there certainly is a skills shortage out there, along with a labour shortage and material shortage – the impact of which is for the next generation of skilled workers and apprenticeships predominantly, as well as upskilling current workers.
One of the areas we’re looking at is skilled or experienced workers who have been in the industry for years but have yet to prove their competency by gaining an accredited card. We provide an all-round solution to that, from NVQ assessments to plant operator tickets. All of this is tiered at different levels; novices, intermediate candidates and we have many thousands of experienced candidates that need to gain these cards to continue working in the industry.
It’s important not to ignore those already in the industry and experienced, but it’s essential at the same time to look at upskilling and bringing on new operatives into the industry and that’s where the foundation of apprenticeships sits.
That is predominantly bringing school leavers from education into education in the workplace where they will continue on an accredited scheme of training to industry standards, but working at the same time and providing an immediate solution to the labour shortage on-site.
And because we are continuing with an accredited course of training, it is upskilling them at the same time. So we’re developing new workers for the next generation.
How important have you found the change to the definition of apprenticeships?
It’s certainly a change in what was an employer-led programme onto a learner-focused programme. From our point of view, traineeships (born predominantly this year) have given young learners an opportunity to get a stepping stone into an apprenticeship. It’s given an opportunity to bring in fresher learners who gather foundation skills, work skills and employability skills so that when they enter the workplace, they are prepared and are not as green as they were when going directly into apprenticeships.
Our traineeship comprises of a cohort of 10-15 young learners per group who will start with us on a 6-8 week training programme where we cover all the core health and safety practice that candidates need to get into the workplace.
We are not just focusing on the practical skills; we focus on theory, health and safety, legislation, the safety aspect of sending young lads into the workplace, covering all of this but ensuring we deliver adequate employability skills, interview skills as well as the opportunity for work trials.
All this is significant because these learners – many of whom are only 16-17 – are being introduced into a construction career and it needs to be done carefully, not throwing them in without any skills or training.
That is the beauty of the traineeship; it is a period of induction into the workplace and into health and safety so that when they are sent out they are alert, aware and safe.
From there they can go on to develop skills in the workplace, come here to college once a week and further develop skills in the classroom and the workshop.
What it leads to at the end of the two-year programme is a fully rounded, fully skilled construction operative.
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