Joint venture helps tackle skills gap in construction

A tier one contractor and training provider are paving the way to tackle the skills gap in Scotland through apprenticeships.

Morgan Sindall Construction and tigers want to raise awareness of the importance of apprenticeships during Scottish Apprenticeship Week in March, which highlights the vital role they play in supporting people, employers and the economy.

Since launching in August last year, Morgan Sindall Construction had an intake of 29 tigers apprentices from South Ayrshire and Glasgow who are working towards a Modern Apprenticeship in Construction whilst gaining valuable work experience on important developments in their area.

Tigers has worked with young people across Scotland for more than two decades, helping to develop their infinite potential through a vocational education model of industry skills development, personal growth and work-based qualification delivery. It has a range of training and development courses to help people into employment in areas such as marketing, early learning and childcare, leadership, and construction.

The apprentices are currently working on Prestwick Educational Campus and Maybole Community Campus - two new multi-use flagship education and community campuses which are being delivered in partnership with development partner hub South West for South Ayrshire Council.

Apprentices are studying towards a Civil Engineering at SVQ 2 SCQF Level 5 over the course of 18 months, with the opportunity to continue their employment with Morgan Sindall Construction or one of its subcontractors upon completion. They will complete units on health and safety, productive work practises and non-specialist concrete.

The practical work experience will also equip young people with in demand skills such as sustainable and digital construction as the industry shifts towards a Net Zero approach.

The apprentices are playing an integral role in Morgan Sindall Construction’s commitment to leave a lasting legacy in communities in which it operates, from firestations to community hubs and educational facilities.

The local supply chain is also benefiting from the shared apprenticeship model of delivery, helping to nurture the next generation of talent.

Brian Carmichael, director of strategic development at tigers, said: "As tigers celebrates its 21st birthday there really could not have been a better way to mark that milestone than by honouring our belief that Modern Apprenticeships play a pivotal role in attracting and honing the skills of our future workforce through a shared value approach which nurtures not only the practical talent of our young people but also their development as human beings.

“That shared value approach is exemplified by our innovative joint venture programme with leading tier one contractor Morgan Sindall Construction. A programme which has already committed to employing 29 young people since its launch in August 2021.

“All of those young people have been presented with an opportunity to enter employment within a thriving construction sector, gain green and digital skills which support the sectors aims around sustainability as well as achieving an industry recognised qualification.

“Alongside Morgan Sindall Construction, our joint venture is committed to delivering a Construction Modern Apprenticeship that exceeds the standard requirements of the qualification. We achieve that by engaging a whole person approach to our combined delivery. This approach sees us deliver - in collaboration with partner organisations, stakeholders and industry bodies - a raft of experiential and practical learning activities. These include a package of mindfulness and positive mindset coaching alongside Low Carbon Awareness through Passivhaus and Retrofit skills training as well as Digital Construction Skills.

“Scottish Apprenticeship week affords our joint venture and employers across the country an opportunity to celebrate their apprentices and showcase the importance of apprenticeships in our collective drive to support a diverse and skilled workforce.

“As part of that celebration, every one of our 29 young people will have the opportunity to participate in training and take a tour of the fabulous Construction Scotland Innovation Centre in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, after which they will get the opportunity to reflect on their apprenticeship experience to date when meeting the joint venture senior leadership team.”

Stuart Parker, managing director of Morgan Sindall Construction Scotland region, said: “Scottish Apprenticeship Week offers a chance for us to reflect on the importance of apprentices and recognise what they achieve. Launching our successful partnership with tigers signalled our commitment to upskilling young people through a whole-person approach to learning and encouraging personal resilience and effectiveness. We are also providing an opportunity to break into the construction industry by investing on a large scale.

“Since our partnership launched in August, we have onboarded 29 young people who have demonstrated the potential and commitment to form the future of the industry. They are receiving access to corporate benefits such as an employee assistance programme and holiday allowance and are offered a travel and tool allowance to help support them.

“The shared values between Morgan Sindall Construction and tigers has enabled us to offer apprentices a chance to work on exemplar development which will add real value to their CV whilst receiving world-class training from experienced professionals.

“Apprenticeships can be extremely rewarding and our apprentices should feel extremely proud of what they have achieved so far at Prestwick Educational Campus and Maybole Community Campus, two developments which will have a real impact on people’s lives.

Following a successful intake last year, the joint venture plans to expand the programme.

• For more information about this news release please contact Alice Lee at Influential on 07450 562 743 or email [email protected].