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This pilot would aim to understand how mental health education and support can contribute to improved retention for individuals during their apprenticeship in construction, as well as reducing their likelihood of a mental health crisis when in the workplace.

This project will work with 29 colleges to train 464 college tutors/training staff in Mental Health First Aid, 464 apprentices in Mental Health Awareness and provide additional 121 support to almost 100 apprentices.

The Centre is a member of a number of consortiums in Lincolnshire involved in delivering a co-ordinated response to construction training and the supply of construction staff to the industry, working with Lindum Construction, Priory Academies, BESA Construction, Gelders Construction and Site Competence Training with 50 employers engaged with the Centre. All learners join a 12-day employability programme and then participate in a further 4 week practical training experience within Bricklaying, Groundworks and Joinery when they are then ready to visit sites for experience. The learners are then supported to find employment within the network of employers identified. The funding from the ECO project will help support the individuals in employment by weekly touch points in the first month followed by regular monthly communication and discussion of further learning and development.

LBBD is currently going through a huge period of large-scale regeneration across the whole borough. This includes the construction of Barking Riverside (largest housing regeneration project in Europe), The relocation of three food markets (Spittlefields, Smithfields and Billingsgate) to Dagenham Dock, the creation of East London’s first film studios to Dagenham East and the introduction of a new Free Port which will also grow SME business opportunities for our construction supply chains. LBBD forecast that 20,000 new jobs will be created from this regeneration alongside the redevelopment of other areas including Barking Town Centre, Beam Park and Marks Gate. Individuals will be assigned a dedicated construction specialist Job Broker who will conduct initial assessments to clarify barriers and challenges they face. Action plans are then created with the individuals which identify key aims and objectives and include specialist referral points.

"Gement’s main areas of operation are in Essex, Suffolk, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, Surrey and Kent, however due to Gement’s broad customer base, the wider UK area is regularly covered as well. This includes Gement’s involvement with Tier 1 contractors who have multiple sites across the UK, as well as smaller companies who have recently opened new branches in other counties of the UK during the duration of their involvement with Gement.
The support programme will comprise of a series of checkpoint meetings conducted at the job start and running 12 months post job start and include supporting individuals through a bespoke plan, encouraging new entrants to upskill and remain motivated in their job, provide honest feedback to the individual and improve employee satisfaction. "

"Hampshire County Council is the ‘go to’ organisation linking construction to the benefit of the community through strong links and professional connections with the construction industry. The ECO project will continue to maximise the established pathways and far-reaching opportunities afforded by the Council’s Employment and Skills Plans to identify job start and progression opportunities. These connect to a wider range of construction developments with ESPs, District & Borough owned, across the county that we are in direct, regular contact through quarterly meetings. Established relationships through The Construction Skills programme work with Willmott Dixon, Churchill Contractors, WBR Company, Morgan Sindall, Berkeley Group, Grainger PLC, Wates, Milestone, Taylor Wimpey, Kier, Jackson Rowe, Rydon, Vistry Partnerships, Barratt Homes, Highwood, Bewley, Vivid Homes, Bellway, Miller Homes, Carmichaels, Taylor Woodrow. They report, on average, 15 vacancies a month.

Our experience supporting people into work on the CSF and TCS projects together with feedback from employers shows us that retention in work can be achieved when we support individuals and we have immediate access internally and via our partners to a number of opportunities including: Hampshire County Council ACL workshops including ‘Mentally Prepared for Work’, ‘Developing Confidence and Self-esteem’ and ‘Confidence and Motivation’.

In addition, there would be individualised guidance from the ECO team, providing drop-in sessions with volunteers and sector specialists from our construction sector partners. "

Landau work with the The Marches which is home to Telford, currently the 4th most active area within the UK for new build homes and whilst Telford leads the way, there is a high level of activity in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Housing contractors are keen to develop good working relationships with the local area and are keen to work with training providers/agencies and recruiters to support new entrants and retain staff. Landau engage with local employers including Balfour Beatty, Connexus Housing, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis, Wrekin Housing and Oakwrights. Landau has already established programmes with The Marches Construction ready partnership and Building Better Opportunities programmes will support new entrants into employment. Individuals will then be supported in the workplace, to sustain employment through a 3, and 6-month period. This will consist of a review with the employer to review the individuals progress and to discuss if any additional training and support has been identified. Landau have developed a 5-stage support framework with interventions for any and every stage of an individuals development. The ECO funding will allow this support and mentoring to be operated through work coaches and mentors visiting the workplace regularly.

"NFRC Roofing Careers Service supports roofing employer members and their current and future employees through the entire careers cycle. We are committed to promote roofing as a skilled, professional sector within the wider construction industry. The careers service is completely free to use (for members and non-members) and is a valuable and evolving resource for Young People, Employers, Parents and Career changers to come together in one place for careers information, guidance and signposting.
Once a new entrant has secured employment, challenges that cannot be immediately addressed can be managed through the ECO project, using the individual learning plan’s agreed support and actions, with tailored support provided by NFRC (including facilitating referrals to the employees’ barrier-specific support agencies including our free counselling services or free legal, tax and HR support service provided by ARAG) to support both the employee and their employer.
NFRC would brief the employer on buddy requirements (individual identified for this role as soon as possible – ideally during the recruitment of the employee). Once the buddy is identified, NFRC will brief the buddy and ensure that they are fully committed to delivering their responsibilities and are aware of their involvement requirements. "

"At the West Midlands Combined Authority employer engagement is managed through a golden thread from Local Authority and WMCA Section 106 social value agreements for new entrant employment. Regionally, WMCA and its partners are members of the SEEC Group for HS2/BBV main works and Lendlease Perry Barr and Smithfield programmes which will run for the period and beyond the ECO programme. WMCA providers also jointly run on site training hubs established with employers following WMCA holding CSF1 contracts, establishing sustainable on site hubs with Lendlease, Willmott Dixon and John Sisk.
WMCA intention is to maintain our Construction Gateway brand and then offer to specific resident progressors, employers and labour supply partners the ECO offer where it can be established there are risks to retention when individuals are engaged but ECO will also be offered to residents as a voluntary opt in offer to assist with their transition to sector employment, especially where they are recruited from a disadvantaged group eg. care leaver, female, ex-offender. Pipeline vacancy activity in the WMCA region includes over 250 construction projects in Birmingham as well as an equal amount across our other local authorities including our extension to midland metro civil engineering, our residential house building programme, part funded by Homes England and direct and indirect activity required for HS2 including 4 new railway stations and our SPRINT 2 programme following the Commonwealth Games.
WMCA work closely with their training providers preparing the individuals for the job opportunity and as part of this framework ALL training providers must also offer free e-learning in specific areas of identified weakness for new entrant sector retention eg. mental health training as well as 24-hour access line support from partner organisations. All employers supporting ECO will also need to commit to an in work coach to assist individuals when training organisations are not accessible on site. The ECO fund will enable WMCA to co-ordinate this work and retain individuals in the West Midland construction community. "

"Women into Construction currently has over 100 Corporate members across the UK with good representation from Main and Specialist Construction Contractors, Housing Developers and Recruitment Agencies – all of which are consistently looking to recruit women to their businesses. Currently there are over 2000 live vacancies on offer for our female participants, ranging from entry level roles such as site operatives and traffic marshals to site management, commercial and health and safety roles at supervisory and higher levels.
Home building and railway infrastructure are key subsectors for demand – hence our planned programmes with the Home Builders Federation and HS2 in the coming year. WiC continue to work with all their existing employers and their subcontractors as London Tideway comes to an end and the employment moves to HS2 and other major developers such as Landsec and The Guiness Partnership with projects including Leaside Lock, 21 Moorfields and N2Nova.
Work continues in the West Midlands with HS2 the big driver as well as St Mowden Homes and Citizen Housing. In the East we are working with Morgan Sindall, Lovell and Sizewell C and in the South West with the Guiness Partnership and the Hill Group
By providing additional resource post job start, this new project will allow WiC to extend our in-work support services to women and their employers to tackle the gender bias in the sector and support more women to sustain meaningful employment and careers in construction.
The delivery model designed for this project has been developed following client feedback and focus groups to explore and address these specific issues facing women currently working in construction. Women asked for coaching and mentoring, conflict training, support when entering management roles and a peer network for emotional and career support. Employers asked for practical solutions to support women sustain employment and progress in their businesses. "

"This is a joint Island venture with the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney local authorities. As island groupings with more than 80% of micro employers, anticipated levels of high unemployment, an aging population and an aging workforce, support with recruitment, accreditation and training is commonly reported to be an increasing problem. The Island employers need to encourage people to live, earn and learn locally. Across the islands, the demand for construction skills aligned to a just transition to net zero and wider environmental/sustainability will be critical to reach the commitments set out in the Islands Growth Deal.  Key projects that will require increased access to construction skills from 2023-2033 include: Orkney Islands Centre for Net Zero, Orkney Research and Innovation Campus Phase 2, World Heritage Site Gateway Project, Scapa Flow Future Fuels Hub, Creative Islands Wellbeing, Transmission Cable and Community Wind Farm projects. Shetland Dales Voe Decommissioning, Saxa Vord Space Centre, Hydrogen and Offshore Wind Developments, Sandveien Redevelopment, Energy Isles Wind Farm, Staney Hill Housing, New Gilbert Bain Hospital, Fair Isle Ferry Western Isles Deep Water Port, Stornoway Primary, HHP Housing, Lochmaddy Uist Ferry Port, Barra and Vatersay Community Campus, Water supply Upgrade, Wind Farm expansion,,Spaceport – Uist
Along with the many capital works that have been identified, there are a large volume of repairs, maintenance, house building and smaller commercial builds. As the islands are experiencing an influx of tourism the islands infrastructure needs upgrading. Without new major investment into new people into the construction industry we are going to reach crisis point. Funding opportunities like this are pivotal to the future success of our economy and communities. A training officer will be assigned to work with the individuals and the employers and the project will aim to have identified buddies on each site who can work with the participants and be that person who shows them the ropes and gives them a better understanding of the roles within construction. Experienced Apprentices are often good models for shadowing new entrants as they are fresh enough to remember what it is like to be the new person and have enough experience to give them valuable advice and guidance. "