Awards celebrate first year of South Ashford project
17 October 2008: This time last year, ConstructionSkills, the Learning Skills Council (LSC) and Denne Construction launched the first National Skills Academy for Construction in the South East. This is based at Denne Construction’s Stanhope redevelopment project in South Ashford. One year on, and it’s celebrations all round as Denne hosts a major awards ceremony to honour the successes of the past twelve months.
Over twenty awards were given out to acknowledge the achievements of the trainees, companies and individuals involved in the Stanhope construction project. These ranged from Best Work Experience Trainee and Best Supervisor through to Most Supportive Trade Contractor. ConstructionSkills sponsored the Best Apprentice award, which was won by Dominic Hills (18) from Ashford. Dominic started on a work experience placement in brickwork soon after the Academy opened, and his dedication has earned him his apprenticeship and the award.
Christina Montague, Regional Strategy Adviser, ConstructionSkills South East said:
“ConstructionSkills wholly supports the concept of site-based construction training and the success of this project to date has proved that it is an effective way forward for the industry. The first year has been a great learning curve for all involved and is a significant milestone for construction in the South East.”
Working with ConstructionSkills, the main contractor Denne Construction developed a training plan for the life of the project. This plan ranges from community school visits and work experience for young people, to apprenticeships and supporting the existing workforce at all levels. ConstructionSkills provides £40,000 support for the project to fund a training co-ordinator to be based on the site.
Nicholas Fowler, Business Development Manager at Denne Construction, commented:
“A combination of trainees, companies, supervisors and the site team have really made this Skills Academy an outstanding success. The response by the trade contractors and the site team has been fantastic and we are very much looking forward to continuing this work through the life of the project.”
The Stanhope project in South Ashford is a major residential regeneration scheme, and the first-ever Skills Academy scheme with housing. The construction of 442 homes on ten different sites is planned over a five year period–with a major refurbishment and upgrade programme, for the existing 325 council-owned properties, running in tandem.
David Smith, Area Director for LSC Kent and Medway added:
“The LSC is delighted with the success of the innovative South Ashford project. It is a clear example of the benefits that can be achieved by employers developing structured and tailored training programmes. It has also, significantly, provided the trainees working on the project the chance to widen their skills through career enhancing on-site training.”
The project is part of the National Skills Academy network, a Government initiative led by the Learning and Skills Council designed to put employers in the driving seat and raise the standard of industry training to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across the UK.