The Skills Centre partners with the Greater London Authority to provide Green Skills Bootcamps

The Skills Centre, with support from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and industry employers, will provide 5-week rainscreen cladding Skills Bootcamps, thanks to funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA).

There is a growing shortage of qualified and specialist cladding removal and installation experts in the UK, and particularly in London, due in part to changes in the labour market following Brexit. Yet the demand for cladding skills have continued to increase driven by new legislation, targets and funding for both sustainability and fire safety.

Beginning in July, the new training course will take place at The Skills Centre’s specialist facility in Stratford and will introduce those new to construction to cladding and provide them with the skills and experience needed to get a job in the industry. After completing the course, learners will gain unit 1 of an NVQ in Cladding – "Installing sheeting & Cladding Rainwater good on roofs and walls in the workplace" as well as up to 5-week's on-site work experience with a local employer and a guaranteed interview.

This initiative is part of GLA’s Skills Bootcamps for Londoners, a £19million initiative which is championing London’s skills offer and supporting Londoners into good jobs in the city’s key sectors, namely digital, green, construction, creative, health and social care.

This is the first of many Skills Bootcamps that The Skills Centre will be delivering during the course of the academic year.

Jon Howlin, CEO of The Skills Centre, said of the initiative: “These Skills Bootcamps are a great way for those who have an interest in joining the construction industry, but no background in it, to take their first steps towards a construction career.

“It’s a great scheme which we are proud to be providing for the people of London. These cladding skills are very much in demand, so the learners who leave us with the site-ready skills and competency which will help them hopefully step straight into a job.”

Jon added: “The great thing about the way we work here at The Skills Centre is that we partner with employers, with construction companies, and so we feed them the skills they need. We help our learners with that process in the hope that they get a job, and our employer partners get the skills they need for their projects.

“We are proud to be partnering again with the CITB and with GLA to provide this much needed training and look forward to welcoming our first cladding leaners through our doors at our Straftord centre.”

Gareth Davies, Commercial Director of The Skills Centre, said: “We are grabbing the bull by the horns, working with local boroughs spreading the awareness of the fantastic career opportunities in the cladding sector. We will train you and our clients will give you the job openings. This is a huge opportunity for construction companies to tackle their labour skill shortage and to help them with their Section 106 requirements.

“Being the chosen provider of this Bootcamp enables us to be the bridge to support the communities, the clients, manufacturers and most importantly provide the correct training for these individuals, so our construction industry remains sustainable and safe.”

https://theskillscentre.co.uk/courses-services/rainscreen-cladding-bootcamp