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Thanks to funding from the FMB, eleven construction students from City College Plymouth are spending the summer months gaining valuable pre-apprenticeship experience with local employers.
Last year the FMB committed £10,400 to the Pathway to Construction scheme, which provides full-time college students approaching the end of their first year on a construction-based course with a work experience placement. Employers that offer the placements are given funding for up to 16 weeks, and get the opportunity to test the student’s suitability for a fully employed apprenticeship. This makes the Pathway to Construction scheme incredibly valuable to employers as well as those seeking a successful career in the industry.
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Mike Smith, Managing Director of Plymouth firm Mainly Kitchens and member of the FMB, has taken on Kieran Wheeler, a young carpenter and joiner from the college.
Mr Smith said: "The business has really benefitted from having Kieran on board. He has shown genuine commitment to the work. These are very challenging times for the construction industry and taking on an apprentice is a big commitment to make, especially for smaller firms. Therefore, Pathway to Construction is a good way to test if you are suited to working with one another. The FMB was entirely right to support this initiative."
City College Plymouth helped indentify the Pathway to Construction students at the beginning of the academic year. Amongst the students involved, there are bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers and painters.
Richard Diment, Director General of the FMB said: "We know the initial cost of employing an apprentice can be prohibitive, which is why we are pleased to do our part in funding the Pathway to Construction scheme. Employers really benefit from working with a young person who has already started to learn a lot of the necessary skills, and it is great to see that FMB members have built such close links with the local FE College as a result of the scheme."
(CD/GK)
