The Lower Thames Crossing has launched a pilot Skills Hub providing work-based training courses for participants that include men and women on day release from Kent based prisons and local people already in the construction workforce seeking higher skilled jobs.
The service seeks to break down employment barriers for local people including prison leavers, long-term unemployed, and women returners by offering free training whilst being affordable for businesses.
Training will improve participants’ access to higher skilled and better paid work by prioritising in-demand skills and those needed to deliver the next generation of low-carbon and modern construction projects.
The pilot is being run with Kent based family run business Gallagher Group, at their Maidstone quarry site, and Flannery Plant Hire, a leader in UK plant supply and skills bootcamp training.
More than 20 people will take part in the pilot, including six men and women on day release from Stanford Hill and East Sutton Park prisons in Kent, who will gain Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card ready to work on site, along with guaranteed job interviews through Gallagher’s and Flannery’s supply chains. Other attendees, who are already in local employment, will gain site supervisor qualifications enabling them to progress into more senior roles.
Following learnings from the pilot the plan is to roll out a series of new Skills Hubs across Kent and Essex in 2025. These will be in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), local education providers and the project’s supply chain to continue addressing local skills needs after construction of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.
As part of the project’s drive to deliver a lasting skills legacy, it has appointed Lord David Blunkett, former Education and Employment Secretary, as its independent skills and education advisor to help shape and develop the project’s approach to skills.
Lord David Blunkett (pictured, right), Skills Advisor, Lower Thames Crossing, said: “It’s no secret that there is a national shortage of skills across the country which poses a significant challenge to economic growth. The Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hubs will break down barriers to opportunity by tackling skills shortages today, and by forging a pathway to a high-skills economy, and resilient future for the construction industry in Kent, Essex, and the region.”
(Picture – National Highways)
