18 June 2014

Four unemployed young people have been offered jobs in construction thanks to a Prince’s Trust course run in partnership with Costain Training.

The young people took part in the Get into Construction course at Severn Trent Water’s Finham sewage treatment works.  Costain site staff, who are members of the Severn Trent Water framework team, helped the young people – who were all long-term unemployed - and helped to gain the skills, experience and qualifications needed to find work in construction.

Theoretical sessions delivered by the Costain Training and Talent team took place every morning to prepare the group for their CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) health and safety test. These were followed by practical sessions on site, which covered basic skills such as bricklaying, concrete mixing and pipe laying. Staff from George Law, one of the subcontractors at Finham, also helped out by running a session on how to lay a path.

All young people taking part in the course received their CSCS card – a requirement for working in construction – as well as help with CV writing and interview technique to help them find a job.

Mike Pipe, Get into programme Executive at The Prince’s Trust, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to work with Costain. The onsite experience they provided was invaluable to cement the young people’s knowledge in a practical way. Costain’s help and support has been key in giving the young people the skills and confidence they needed to move into work, education or training.”
 
Tom Pawson, Senior Site Agent at Finham, ensured all the practical elements were in place for the two weeks and also taught pipe laying and testing.

“We were really impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm of the lads,” he said. “It was great to see how keen young people are to get into the industry and to be able to support them in their ambitions.”

Simon Rose, Ganger at the Stratford Milcote site, enjoyed teaching basic concrete shuttering/mixing and pouring. “Having never been involved with anything like this before it was good to give a little bit back and pass on some of my experience to younger people looking to get into construction - even though it made me feel old!”

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