Project Helps Hard Working Trainees Gain Permanent Employment

A celebration event at the Broadfield Hotel was held on Tuesday 30 March for hard-working trainees from Rochdale Building Trades Agency who have undergone Brickwork and Finishing Trades courses to prepare them for permanent work. The project is run by West Pennine Housing Association in partnership with Rochdale Council and Rochdale Housing Initiative. It aims to give key vocational skills to unemployed local people across the Borough.

Since its inception in July 2002, nine trainees from the Brickwork programme have been working on boundary wall schemes in Heywood as well as gaining in-house training at the Council’s Mill Fold depot. Seven have now got jobs in bricklaying with local contractors.

Within the Finishing Trades scheme, monies from Heywood NDC provided courses to train 16 local men and women to a standard where they could be employed in housing refurbishment work. This has proved important to address the local skills shortages which contractors had earlier identified. These lay in areas such as patch plastering, floor and wall tiling. Further funding from Housing Market Renewal has enabled more trainees to join the programme and there is now a continuing supply of job-ready local labour available.

Helen Barnes of West Pennine Housing Association, Project Manager, is pleased with the outcomes, but believes it is all down to close liaison with local contractors. She said, “Our emphasis is on ensuring trainees are useful on site from day one rather than providing formal qualifications in every case, although we are accredited for both CITB and City and Guilds training. Acknowledgement must be given to our partners in Rochdale Council, Rochdale Housing Initiative, RBH, Heywood NDC and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund who have supplied the monies and expertise for the scheme, but the trainees themselves deserve credit for their unfailing commitment. For me to be able to say that all trainees who finished their courses have obtained directly-related employment is a real motivator our new starters”.

The Mayor Councillor Sultan Ali and Councillor Angie Robinson, Cabinet member for Community Cohesion & Housing presented certificates to 30 successful trainees at this packed event. Also on the agenda were Trevor Jee from Bramall Construction who gave a private sector perspective as to why they are backing the scheme and how it has worked for them.

The scheme has current vacancies for more bricklaying trainees and applicants can also go on a waiting list for Finishing Trades courses. There are plans to expand, with other projects under consideration being painting and decorating for women, together with business advice so they can set up their own businesses once trained.

For more information, contact Helen Barnes at West Pennine Housing Association on 0161 621 4138