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Gateway pledges 100 apprenticeships for Birmingham

13 February 2012  12:36

 

Birmingham Gateway project partners, Mace, Network Rail and Birmingham City Council have pledged to create 100 apprenticeships across Birmingham and the West Midlands as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

The Birmingham Gateway Apprenticeship 100+ Pledge aims to incentivise contractors working on the project to offer 100 apprenticeships to local people by 2015. With the launch of this new promise, the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street Station aims to have generated over 1,000 jobs during construction.

The Pledge is part of the project team's commitment to providing jobs for local people and encouraging them to develop their skills. It will also encourage local companies to offer apprenticeships and support local people back into the workplace.

Led by Birmingham City Council's Employment Access Team (EAT), the scheme will provide contractors and their suppliers, the support they need to ensure each apprentice and employer develops a positive working relationship.  The scheme will work with training providers South Birmingham College to ensure people applying for jobs have the skills they need and apprentices are well supported and trained towards the achievement of their qualifications.  To date 16 contractors working on the New Street redevelopment have signed up to the Pledge.

Richard Thorpe, director of delivery at Mace, said: "The Pledge is an important part of our commitment to the local community.  Our aim is to leave behind a legacy of education and of highly skilled people who can achieve higher safety and quality performance in the construction sector for the Birmingham area."

Cllr Huxtable, Birmingham City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment and Regeneration said: "The Council's pledge is to ensure all organisations delivering the transformation of New Street Station understand and commit to achieving outstanding added value for Birmingham people and businesses. This project has a great platform to launch careers, develop lifelong skills and stimulate learning and development across the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area.  The City Apprenticeship Hub for Birmingham will reinforce our approach and provide much needed support, making it easier for companies to employ apprentices"

In November, Mace, Network Rail and Birmingham City Council partnership launched the Birmingham Gateway Construction Academy to provide high quality training resources and up-skilling opportunities for those working on the project.

Birmingham New Street station will remain open to passengers throughout the project with passengers noticing the first major changes to their journey at the end of this year when the first half of the new station concourse opens over Christmas 2012.  The project is set to complete in 2015.

Contacts to the Birmingham Gateway Project

If you are interested in working on the Birmingham Gateway Project, please contact a member of Birmingham City Council's Employment Access Team who is working with Jobcentre Plus, the Skills Funding Agency and individual suppliers to the project to match local skills and resources to relevant vacancies:

Employment Access Team, Birmingham City Council by email at: eatgateway@birmingham.gov.uk

Alternatively you can complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form on-line at: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/eat-eoi

For more information on the transformation of Birmingham New Street go to: /