Industry programmes guide candidates towards new job opportunities
Suffolk New College is helping people retrain, get back to work and build a new future thanks to the launch of a series of construction bootcamps.
The courses are free to everyone who is over 19 and either self-employed or not currently working.
The programmes – that are taking place at Suffolk Rural College near Ipswich – are also heavily subsidised by the government for those who are in employment or studying on an apprenticeship.
Courses run over a period of seven weeks, although those who take part only need to commit to four weeks in total.
On completion, participants get industry tickets and qualifications that help set them up for work at the end of the course.
Industry partners are also involved and they have been offering interviews to successful candidates on completion of the bootcamps.
One of the people to successfully complete was 53-year-old Stuart Moss from Orford. Mr Moss is in the process of swapping boats for building after recently leaving the fishing industry.
Stuart said: “Fishing has dried up so it’s time to retrain. It (the skills bootcamp) has been good, easygoing going and informative. Tutors have explained things in an easy to take in way that helps you understand. It’s never too late to change and it has given me a good insight (into construction). I’ve learnt about health and safety, PPE, pathways into industry, and traffic martialling and I’m hoping this opens up opportunities to a construction site.”
Stuart has just found out that he has gained employment at Sizewell C.
Lucy Emms is the business development manager at Suffolk New College (which incorporates Suffolk Rural). Lucy said: “This qualification will get you construction site ready.
“Our first cohort have just completed and two are going to be taken on by Galldris as apprentices in January. One of our key roles as a college is to make employment easier for people and these bootcamps are a great example of this.”
The next bootcamps commence in January 2025 – for details you can visit here: Skills Bootcamp – Suffolk New College
The courses are supported by businesses who are keen to attract new talent into construction. Current partners include OnSite Support Ltd and Galldris Group.
David Wake from the Galldris Group said: “We got involved as we wanted to engage with the candidates and cover the basics of careers in groundworks. I think we (the candidates, the company and the college) can achieve a lot together. The programme has been excellent.”
From January 2024, the college will be offering more skills bootcamps in other areas such as arboriculture (or tree surgery). For more details you can visit: https://www.suffolk.ac.uk/skills-bootcamp/