Left to right: Building Plymouth Skills Co-ordinator Emma Hewitt, Regional Director, Prospects Services Nicola Squibb, Managing Director, YGS Landscapes Steve Warren-Brown, Associate Dean Pre Degree, Plymouth College of Art Matias Shortcook, Chief Executive Officer, TruVision Connor Handley-Collins.

Building industry support for driving up local construction skills

Four new project sponsors have invested in the Council led Building Plymouth partnership which aims to work collaboratively to overcome the skills shortage facing the local construction industry.

Plympton based YGS Landscapes, independent specialist Plymouth College of Art, award winning provider of virtual reality solutions TruVision, and information and advice provider National Careers Service, delivered in the South West by Prospects the employment, education, training and care company, have all signed up.

They join 22 existing project sponsors: AECOM, City College Plymouth, CITB, Constructing Excellence, Gilpin Demolition, Kier, Midas, mi-space, Millfields Trust, Morgan Sindall, Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Community Homes, Plymouth Construction Training Group, Redrow, Ryearch, Skills Group, South Devon College, Stride Treglown, SWH Group, TClarke, Ward Williams Associates and Willmott Dixon.

Council Leader Ian Bowyer said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome our four new project sponsors for Building Plymouth. Our partnership continues to go from strength to strength and this is only made possible by genuine collaboration and financial investment. This funding will enable us to drive up activity in order to increase the availability of construction skills to meet the needs of local employers thereby creating jobs, apprenticeships and career opportunities for the residents of the city.”

Steve Warren-Brown, Managing Director, YGS Landscapes said: “I am passionate about Plymouth. The fact that we are anticipating the need to create an extra 10,000 jobs in the city demonstrates a huge swelling of confidence in the construction industry. Landscaping is a huge factor with all of these developments. It supports all projects, enhancing street scenes, creating better working environments and helps negate the impact that developments often cause. To that end it is inevitable that the demand for landscaping is going to increase as well and YGS are determined to ensure that we can support the future workforce generation and facilitate opportunities for all by working in partnership with Building Plymouth.”

Connor Handley-Collins, Chief Executive Officer of TruVision said: “TruVision has come on board as a sponsor of Building Plymouth to help showcase the future of Digital Construction in the south west. This area of the built environment is so powerful in the construction of any building and our goal is to help bring young talent into the industry with a different range of skills.”

Matias Shortcook, Associate Dean Pre Degree, Plymouth College of Art said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to work together to raise the profile of creativity and design in the construction sector.”

Jo Skeel, Partnership Manager (Devon & Somerset), National Careers Service said: “Prospects is one of the largest national providers of the National Careers Service. As an organisation, we have been working closely with Building Plymouth since its conception. As part of our contract in the South West we provide ‘The Inspiration Agenda’; a free brokerage service between schools, young people and a range of employers. With growth of the construction industry being a high priority, it is important for us to showcase and demonstrate the wide range of construction related job roles, employers and opportunities on offer for young people and adults in Plymouth. Building Plymouth sponsorship helps us better understand the current and future skills needs of the sector, as well as offering us the chance to network with high profile employers and stakeholders. This enables us to promote career pathways, jobs, Apprenticeships and other construction related training opportunities to both young people considering their future careers and adults seeking a career change or employment.”

For more information visit www.buildingplymouth.co.uk

Pictured from left to right: Building Plymouth Skills Co-ordinator Emma Hewitt, Regional Director, Prospects Services Nicola Squibb, Managing Director, YGS Landscapes Steve Warren-Brown, Associate Dean Pre Degree, Plymouth College of Art Matias Shortcook, Chief Executive Officer, TruVision Connor Handley-Collins.