Local jobs and apprenticeships created by schools project

11 Mar 2021 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

A £37m schools project in Hexham has helped to create more jobs and training opportunities for local people.

79% of those employed through project contractor, Galliford Try live within a 40-mile radius of the site and 18 of those are apprentices – gaining hands-on training to fulfil their own career aspirations.

Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, cabinet member with responsibility for children’s services, said: “As a council we are committed to providing the best opportunities for our children and young people locally and it is great to see this schools project is widening those opportunities by providing apprenticeships as well.”

Dan Roberts from Hartlepool is a Trainee Site Manager, he chose to do an apprenticeship as he liked the idea of being able to work whilst he studied, giving him the chance to gain experience of on-site activities and helping him to further develop his knowledge. He said: “When I started working for Galliford Try I enjoyed being on site and seeing how sites were run on a day-to-day basis, so I decided being on site daily would be more enjoyable for me as it appealed more than sitting in an office.

So far, I have learnt the different stages of a build and the work that is required before the build even starts. Also, the different packages required and the order they need to work in for the project to run smoothly.”

Dan hopes to gain a wider range of experience of different construction trades and different types of builds. Learning construction and design principles from the job starting with the foundations to completion with the finishing aspects. He said: “It has made a huge difference to me to have this opportunity so close to home. It has meant a great deal to me working as part of a team and gaining the experience I have from working on this school build project. I hope this will lead to me running my own project sometime in the future.”

Keeping the school builds project and its employees as local to Northumberland and in the North East as possible was something local ward members were keen on happening from the early stages.

Councillor Trevor Cessford, local ward member for Hexham Central with Acomb, said: “This project has been needed in this area for a long time, and to see it help benefit local people by allowing them to learn and grow as well is great news.”

Councillor Nick Oliver, local ward member for Corbridge said: “It is really important for us to keep jobs local where we can, investing in local people for local purpose in Northumberland and the North East. I am really pleased to hear that Galliford Try have done that on this project not only through jobs but also in training too.”

Apprenticeships and alternative further education opportunities are available across the county. You can find out more here or speak with someone from the careers guidance team for advice.

Jeremy Barnett, Operations Director for Galliford Try Building North East and Yorkshire, commented: “We are committed to creating high-quality opportunities for young people and industry entrants across our business. It’s been fantastic that we have been able to maintain our ambitions at Queen Elizabeth High School, despite the obvious challenges of the pandemic.
 
“I hope that those local people who have joined Galliford Try and its supply chain go on to enjoy successful careers in construction.”
 
Traineeships and graduate placements with Galliford Try can be found here - https://www.gallifordtry.co.uk/careers/vacancies/
You can keep up-to-date with the latest news on the project here.