Free Training ‘Just the Job’ for City's Young Construction Workers

A team of young construction workers from a Nottingham demolition firm have been awarded nearly £10,000 of vital training to help upskill them and boost their future prospects. 

Hucknall-based Total Reclaims Demolition first became aware of council-run employment and skills service, Nottingham Jobs, in 2019 when Fiona Robinson of Nottingham City Council walked onto a construction site in the city centre's Broadmarsh area, where the company was operating.  

She asked to speak to someone about training and, having met with Claire Betteridge, Training Coordinator at Total Reclaims, it was only a matter of weeks before 18 employees from Total Reclaims embarked on free construction courses to help improve their skillsets and boost their CVs.

Michael Bullock (33) from Nottingham, a labourer with six years experience at Total Reclaims, was one of the workers to benefit from the scheme.

He said:

“I’ve now completed my training in working at heights through Nottingham Jobs and I’m also planning to apply to get my scissor lift and cherry-picker licences under my belt. 

“It’s great because extra training like this helps you feel like you’re in control of where you’re going. It really gets you thinking about how you might be able to progress.”  

Nottingham Jobs is the City Council's employment and skills brokerage service and is designed to provide specialist support for employers and jobseekers in and around Nottingham. 

Delivered in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, it provides young workers with additional training and also helps out-of-work city residents get back into employment.  

Fiona Robinson, Employer Engagement and Apprenticeship Officer at Nottingham Jobs, said: 

“Nottingham Jobs is supporting a number of employers involved with the £250 million regeneration of Nottingham’s Broadmarsh region to ensure that Nottingham’s workforce has the skills required for the jobs available on the site.

“We have put together several Demolition Training Academies to ensure Nottingham people get into work on the development and, as a local employer, Total Reclaims has worked closely with Nottingham Jobs to put together an upskilling programme for their employees.

“This will not only provide them with the skills required for the Broadmarsh Project but will also ensure their long-term job sustainability.”

The courses undertaken by Total Reclaims’ workers so far have covered vital site skills like working at height, asbestos awareness and abrasive wheels and manual handling, as well as Construction Plant Competence for excavator skid steers.  

It has also equipped some of the workers with their CCDO cards, illustrating their breadth of competence and enabling them to operate in card-controlled regions of operational demolition sites. 

Claire Betteridge, Training Coordinator at Total Reclaims Demolition, said:

“The Nottingham Jobs initiative has been fantastic for us. 

“It can take a long time and thousands of pounds to upskill your employees but this grant funding has enabled us to train 20% of our entire workforce at the same time. 

“We now have an even more capable, more motivated and more experienced group of guys on site and that’s of major benefit to our company and our clients, as well as our employees.” 

For more information, visit www.totalreclaims.com.