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Communities First continue to LIFT local people into employment
Published: 22/11/2016
Following an innovative training programme in conjunction with a construction
company, 天涯社区 Communities First continues its success in finding
employment for local people.
鈥淏uilding Futures鈥�, an initiative of construction firm Wates Residential, saw
candidates recruited through the Welsh Government鈥檚 Communities First and LIFT
programme who work with people who face barriers to employment.
Eleven local people attended the two week course 鈥� eight of them have now
secured positions with local companies. The remaining three individuals are
continuing to receive support through LIFT and 天涯社区 Communities First to
secure employment.
Communities First is heavily involved in the community benefits programme in
天涯社区 and has excellent links with Wates as well as other businesses in
the area.
Richard Morgan, who started work with Wates Residential recently, said:
鈥淭he Building Futures course was really good for me and I managed to get some
qualifications I never thought I would. This has meant I can now start this
job with Wates and get some experience which will hopefully lead to more
opportunities for me in the future. Without this opportunity through LIFT and
Communities First, this would never have happened. And they are still there to
support which is great.鈥�
The training programme comprised construction skills trade sessions, including
carpentry and brickwork, as well as CV and interview workshops. Each candidate
received a certificate and were awarded a QCF Level 1 Award in Building Crafts
and a CSCS registration to help secure future training and work experience on
building sites.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Councillor
Derek Butler, said:
鈥淏eing able to run these kinds of courses with the support of our partners and
contractors is vital for 天涯社区 if we want to continue to
build more houses. We need to train our local people so that they can take
advantage of local employment opportunities. I鈥檓 delighted that this first
Building Futures course in 天涯社区 has been such a success and I look
forward to us being able to deliver more courses like this in the future.鈥�
Lee Sale, Business Director at Wates Residential, said:
鈥淭hrough its investment in new homes, 天涯社区 is really
setting the standard for major housing investment and a big part of this is the
breadth of opportunity it is creating for local people. As the council鈥檚
development partner we have been working closely over the past year to identify
the ways in which we can positively impact the county and our joint delivery of
Building Futures is just one example of our efforts to fulfil this commitment.鈥�
Left to right: Wates Residential site manager, Richard Morgan, Jorden Whittaker
and Steven Wilkinson