IN AN effort to help the region's unemployed re-enter the workforce, National Construction College (NCC) South in Erith is working with local charity, Employment Focus, providing training to more than 40 people from diverse backgrounds interested in entering the construction industry.

The college is currently running four one week basic construction training courses, until the end of March.

Each course will provide ten people with the opportunity to gain the basic skills required to work on a construction site, as well as the chance to sit the Construction Health and Safety Test and obtain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card – a nationally recognised competence card.

National Construction College South senior instructor and manager for this project, John Sheppard, said this was the first time the college had undertaken such a project.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with Employment Focus and providing these people with the opportunity to learn new skills and receive the right qualifications to enter and work safely and effectively in the construction industry.

"We hope that this training will encourage the participants to pursue and obtain a job in construction.

“There has never been a more exciting time for people to join the industry, with many interesting projects underway or on the horizon, such as the London 2012 Olympics and the Thames Gateway.

"We are keen to train people at a range of levels, from new entrant trainee apprentices to adults, and focussing especially on women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds; these workers can provide employers with many benefits, which are associated with employing a diverse workforce,” he said.

Employment Focus project manager Jo Mackey said: ”This project is aimed at providing unemployed people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the local community with the essential skills they need to re-enter the workforce; working with a local employer, such as NCC will go a long way in helping us to achieve this.

"The first two weeks of training have been successfully completed and we hope this opportunity will encourage these people to pursue a career in construction.”

According to CITB-ConstructionSkills latest Skills Needs Analysis report, 13,000 new people are needed in the South East each year in craft, technical and management roles. This number rises to 89,000 for the whole of the UK.

As the direct training division of CITB-ConstructionSkills, the National Construction College is the largest provider of construction training in Europe, offering both young apprentices and adult students a wide range of specialist courses.

The college’s campus in Erith is one of five sites in the country, which, along with 60 other locations and through internet based learning, provides training for over 40,000 people per year.

To find out more about the courses and training on offer please call 0870 4166222 or visit www.citb-constructionskills.co.uk