Jobs for youngsters created

In partnership with Robert Woodhead Ltd, Bolsover District Council is running the four year B@Home Framework offering work placements, traineeships and apprenticeships for local people alongside using local businesses as sub-contractors and suppliers for the construction work.

Woodhead’s skills and engagement coordinator, Matt Bust, said: “We are already talking with colleges and giving presentations to school assemblies. We want more young people to know about all the different careers and trades used in the construction industry and help them with interview techniques to. Woodhead also supports people already working in the industry to get new skills.”

Ryan Suter, studying plastering at the Chameleon Construction College, was the first to take up a work placement and said, “I’ve been working with the joiners and bricklayers - setting out the build and decking. It’s easier to learn through the practical experience than just reading about it. Now I know how a building site works and I’m thinking about learning bricklaying too.” He is already planning an apprenticeship when he leaves college.

Fellow student, Ben Clark, explained his ambition to become a plasterer: “Helping my father with fencing and joinery helped me decide that I want to do practical work outdoors.

“There aren’t many plasterers around so this should be a good line of work – earning good money in a skilled trade. Being on site gives me real experience so the health and safety and lifting training gets put in to practice when I’m working with the bricklayers. Being with the team will increase my confidence.”