Students are building a future at Hartlepool college thanks to new training course

The bricklaying training programme – the first in the country – involves them working with local employers to gain vital on-the-job experience.

New occupational traineeships were announced by the Government in February with pilots to start in construction and rail this summer.

Employers receive £1,000 per trainee they take on to cover the cost of placements and learners will also be working in partnership with the Association of Brickwork Contractors to provide additional skills needed prior to setting foot on site.

The new traineeship aims to provide a bridge between further education and employment, helping more learners move into construction.

The course has been developed in partnership by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the Department for Education, the Home Builders Federation (HBF), Association of Colleges (AOC), and the British Association of Construction Heads (BACH).

John Cartwright, head of school for construction and the built environment at Hartlepool College of Further Education, said: “We have carefully selected over 20 full time brickwork learners who we feel would benefit from this amazing opportunity and are preparing them for the world of work.

“We want this pilot to be a huge success not just for the learners who are taking part but also the employers who are investing time and effort into the learners and also construction providers and employers up and down the country who will be hoping that this will be a success.”

Steve Radley, CITB policy director, said: “It’s great that construction has been chosen for the first occupational traineeships. This gives us a real opportunity to get more FE learners into construction, giving them a leg up in their careers and helping employers meet their skills needs.

“Employers tell us that new starters may have done a lot of learning and have great knowledge but are short of workplace skills and experience. Traineeships can help bridge this gap.

"The joint work with the FE groups on traineeships has been really productive and is hopefully just the first stage in bringing FE and employers much closer together.”

Find out more about bricklaying at Hartlepool College, go to www.hartlepoolfe.ac.uk/