Balfour Beatty VINCI is supporting a new fast-track training programme designed to help unemployed residents in West Midlands secure careers in the construction industry.
Delivered in partnership with HS2 and Mace Dragados, the initiative will provide unemployed residents with the opportunity to gain valuable skills, health and safety accreditation and access to apprenticeship opportunities on one of Europe's largest infrastructure programmes.
Building on Balfour Beatty VINCI’s established routes into employment programmes, the new six-week General Operatives Training Programme will equip participants with the knowledge and practical experience needed to begin a career in construction. Candidates who successfully complete the programme will automatically qualify for an interview for an 18-month apprenticeship.
The programme will be delivered at South and City College's Bordesley Green campus, with successful candidates progressing to apprenticeship opportunities across both the Curzon Street Station project and the wider railway being delivered through Warwickshire and the West Midlands.
To date, Balfour Beatty VINCI’s employment initiatives have helped 2,273 unemployed local residents secure work on HS2, while 885 individuals have started apprenticeships on the programme, creating a lasting skills legacy across the region.
Kam Hundal, Skills, Employment and Education Business Partner at Balfour Beatty VINCI, said: "We're creating more new apprenticeship opportunities for local people who are currently out of work, as part of our ongoing commitment to leave a lasting skills legacy in the West Midlands.
"Candidates who successfully complete a six-week training programme are guaranteed an interview for these entry-level roles. Along the way, we'll equip them with the skills and health and safety accreditation they need to start working in construction."
Local residents interested in joining the programme are encouraged to register their interest through their local Jobcentre Plus.
ENDS
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Notes to editors:
· Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group delivering the complex, critical infrastructure that keeps economies moving and communities connected.
· With around 26,000 employees, we finance, develop, build, maintain and operate essential infrastructure across the UK, US and Asia, combining deep engineering and construction expertise with long-term investment capability.
· For over one hundred years, we have delivered landmark projects around the world. Today, our teams are helping to deliver major programmes including Hinkley Point C, the UK’s first new nuclear power station in a generation; the Lyric Theatre in Hong Kong, a world-class cultural venue at the heart of the West Kowloon Cultural District; and the Knox Street Development in Dallas, Texas, a major mixed-use scheme helping to reshape one of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods.
Image: Balfour Beatty VINCI contractors on site
