Local construction company Woodhead Group is working with Nottingham City Council’s Employment Hub to offer placement opportunities for local people looking to access employment in the industry.
The £4.7m business innovation hub, known as the Technology Entrepreneurship Centre , is being delivered on behalf of the University of Nottingham on its Jubilee Campus by Woodhead Education.
Woodhead Education and University of Nottingham has been working with Nottingham City Council to use the innovative development to help city residents gain valuable construction skills.
Ben Johnson, aged 19, from Bilborough, is the first young person taking part in a work experience placement, he has joined the Woodhead Education team on site this week to learn the ropes. Further placements are planned throughout the course of the build.
The first young person taking part in a work experience placement has joined the Woodhead team on site this week to learn the ropes. Further placements are planned throughout the course of the build.
Site Manager for Woodhead Education, Tim Mee, said: “In the construction industry, most of us have come through the apprenticeship route and understand the benefit of gaining hands-on experience. These work experience placements give us an opportunity to support new entrants to the sector and share the benefit of our years in the trade.”
As Nottingham’s construction industry continues to grow, Woodhead is keen to help support unemployed city residents and is committed to providing placement opportunities with Nottingham City Council for the duration of the build.
Sitting between the Sir Colin Campbell Building and the River Leen on the University of Nottingham Innovation Park, work began on the project last September and is expected to completed this Summer.
Mark Tock, Operations Director of the University of Nottingham Innovation Park, said: “The new Technology Entrepreneurship Centre will provide a focal point for supporting business Start-Ups within our University Enterprise Zone. It will provide facilities for the next generation of young entrepreneurs joining other innovative businesses already based at the Innovation Park. It seems right we that construction of the TEC building helps develop skills and employability for local people.”
The work experience placements are part of a wider employability programme being run by Nottingham City Council which includes health and safety training as well as maths and English. They will also complete Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) accreditation, which is necessary to work on a construction site.
Simon Kirk is Employer and Apprenticeship Officer at Nottingham City Council. He said: “Engaging with local employers is a key part of the work the Employment Hub does in the city and enables us to offer jobseekers the chance to spend time with an organisation gaining skills in a practical environment.”
The Technology Entrepreneurship Centre is being co-funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, University of Nottingham and the Hayden Green Trust.