Scarborough Given £900k For Construction Apprenticeships

Scarborough Given £900k For Construction Apprenticeships

There could be a boost in the number of construction opportunities taking place in Yorkshire over the next few years, after funding has been awarded to Scarborough to create apprentice programmes in the area.

Scarborough Council has welcomed £896,568 from the Coastal Communities Fund, which will be put towards the Scarborough Construction Skills Village.

This money has been given on behalf of the Northern Regeneration CIC for the Middle Deepdale site in Eastfield to create 50 more construction apprenticeships, Scarborough News reported recently.

The village, which was set up three years ago by the local authority together with Northern Regeneration CIC, Kepple Homes and Keepmoat, provides opportunities for young people to learn skills to be able to work in the construction industry.

Councillor Derek Bastiman told those at a cabinet meeting earlier this week that the money from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was very welcome in the North Yorkshire town.

“I’m extremely proud of the skills village. Going up there and seeing the young people and how proud they are of what they have achieved and the options they now have. It is excellent news,” Cllr Bastiman was quoted by the news provider as saying.

Councillor Sandra Turner also extolled the funding, saying the investment would help “give young people in our area the skills to set them up for life”.

As well as providing youth in Yorkshire with valuable experience and knowledge of the construction industry, it will help boost developments in the area.

Keeple Homes and Keepmoat, which are behind the skills village, are already busy building over 1,400 new homes in Eastfield, and more projects could be in the pipeline when the next generation of construction workers are fully trained.

The funding will be paid over three years, spreading out investment so young people who want to join the apprenticeship programme at a later date will still be able to do so.

The government is clearly keen on training more and more people in the industry, as it recently launched Construction Skills Fund worth £22 million, which will be spent on equipping 17,000 people across the country with the abilities they need.

In addition to this, 26 partnerships have been set up to help trainees learn valuable skills and experience to be ready for work in March 2020.

The big drive to train workers is due to the prediction that more than 158,000 employees in the construction industry, such as scaffolders in Hull, will be required over the next five years after the UK leaves the European Union.

Education secretary Damian Hinds recently stated: “It is vital that we have a strong workforce post-Brexit. The Construction Skills Fund will ensure more people gain the skills they need to forge a successful career and help create the skilled workers we need to deliver on our housing ambitions.”

The government wants to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, and if many construction workers return to their country of origin within Europe, the UK will need significantly more British employees in the sector to help meet these ambitious targets.

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