Skills-on-demand service for construction hot-spot

A Construction Gateway initiative, pioneered through the £320 million redevelopment of King’s Mill Hospital in Mansfield, has proved so successful it is to be rolled out across other areas.

The initiative behind the scheme is Making the Connection (MTC) which is part-funded by LEO to provide recruitment and training services to local businesses.

The Kings Mill Construction Gateway initiative brought together colleges and independent training providers to identify and create job-specific courses that would match the staffing needs of the King’s Mill developers and their contractors. The aim was to secure a guaranteed job interview for every successful trainee.

The pilot scheme put 24 candidates through a Construction Gateway – a two-week preemployment training course. Work trials at King’s Mill led to 17 trainees securing permanent posts.

Graham Whiting, MTC Manager, said that the
Construction Gateway was an excellent example of how MTC operates.

“However, we have a huge pool of candidates to draw on and can help businesses with vacancies ranging from scientists to warehouse workers.”

Full information on the service is available from www.making-the-connection.org

Paul Walsh is one of the people to benefit from the Construction Gateway initiative. Having gained a degree in computer studies, he spent three years trying to find the right job without success. “The construction gateway changed my prospects completely. It gave me the training I needed to go for a CSCS card and I went on to work with Skanska for nine months. I’m now working with SGB Hire and Sale and I’m hoping to expand my skills with some administrative experience that will help me take on more responsibility in the future.”

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