Local People Receive ‘Induction To Construction’

Over the past two weeks, a group of local people have been busy gaining new skills and experience thanks to a project delivered in the Caerphilly county borough. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

‘Induction to Construction’ was developed through partnership working between Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Caerphilly Homes team, Communities First, the teams responsible for delivering the LIFT and Communities For Work programmes and community regeneration specialist Keepmoat. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Keepmoat is one of the contractors appointed by the council to help deliver its Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) programme which will see £200 million invested into improving council homes and local communities by 2020. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Eleven people from the Caerphilly county borough took part in the ‘Induction to Construction’ programme; gaining experience and skills through practical and theory based construction sessions during their two week placement with Keepmoat. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Neil Norman from Crumlin is one of the participants who took part in the programme. He said “I knew nothing about Keepmoat before starting and didn’t really know what to expect. I feel that I’ve learned lots over the past two weeks and really enjoyed getting to know the others on the course, as well as the staff at Keepmoat.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The two week course culminated in a celebration event held on Friday 20th May at Cherry Tree House, the base for the council’s WHQS team. During the event participants were presented with certificates marking their achievements and were also given the opportunity to enrol with local recruitment agencies. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Charlie Zennadi, Customer Care Manager at Keepmoat, commented “Last year Keepmoat was named Wales’ ‘Most Community Focused Contractor’, in recognition of our commitment to put communities at the heart of what we do. We believe it is hugely important to support local people and we have been humbled to see how hard the candidates on this programme have worked to improve their confidence levels. I wish them all the best in their future careers in construction.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr David Poole, the council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, added “The council made a clear commitment from the start that its WHQS programme would be used not only to improve homes, but also to transform lives and communities. Through effective partnership working, innovative projects like ‘Induction to Construction’ are being developed which aim to maximise the investment being made into WHQS whilst delivering significant outcomes for local people. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​