Firm donates thousands of bricks to Leicester College to help find best trainee bricklayer in the UK

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 20 July 2018

UPDATED: 20 July 2018

Leading building products manufacturer Forterra has donated thousands of bricks to Leicester College as part of a competition to find the best trainee construction talent in the country.

Budding bricklayers used the firm’s London Bricks in a regional heat of SkillBuild, the largest multi-trade competition in the country, which covers 10 trade occupations including bricklaying, carpentry, plastering and roofing.

SkillBuild, which is run by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), has been running for 50 years. Regional heats of the competition have taken place around the UK, in which construction students compete to be crowned the SkillBuild winner in their chosen trade.

Keith Binns, of Leicester College, said;

“We are very grateful that Forterra has generously provided its bricks for the 2018 SkillBuild regional heat, which took place here on our campus.”

In total, Forterra has donated more than 35,000 of its iconic London Bricks to colleges in cities including London, Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Brighton, Leicester and York, for the regional heats, which take place until July.

Forterra will also be providing bricks for the SkillBuild UK final, which takes place in autumn this year.

Oliver Farrell, CITB Assistant Product Manager, said:

“SkillBuild is a great way for young people to start a rewarding career in construction. The sector has a lot of opportunity. Our Construction Skills Network forecast shows that 158,000 jobs will be created in the UK between now and 2022.

“As part of SkillBuild, competitors are tested not only on their technical abilities, but on their time-management, character and commitment and the competitions can help them build their confidence, self-esteem and life skills.”

London Bricks are made exclusively by Forterra at its Kings Dyke facility in Whittlesey, and have been used in the construction of over five million homes for more than 140 years.

Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra, said; “We’re very proud to donate our London Bricks to be used as part of CITB’s SkillBuild 2018, which aims to find the leading builders of the future.

“We wish the competitors all the best in their future careers, and hope our products help the students at these colleges learn the vital skills they need.”

For more details about CITB SkillBuild 2018, visit https://www.citb.co.uk/careers-in-construction/experience-it/skillbuild/

For more information visit www.forterra.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter via @ForterraUK and on LinkedIn.

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