Helping young people get into construction
Balfour Beatty is a founding sponsor of the Prince's Trust initiative, Building Better Lives, which helps young, disadvantaged people to gain entry into the construction industry through skills training and the provision of job opportunities.
Participants receive a Key Skills Level 1 certificate and on-going support from the Prince's Trust as they enter the industry.
Ben was released from prison a year ago and was placed on probation. He was also homeless and had very high basic skills needs.
He contacted The Prince's Trust and began the 12 week Team personal development programme. When he heard about the Get Into Construction course he was given leave to attend as he was keen to get into bricklaying.
He had a clear goal about what he wanted to do and gained as much experience and as many skills as possible. With support he passed both the CSCS test and the CiTB test. He is now completing an apprenticeship in bricklaying. He is also getting extra support to tackle his basic skills needs.
Ben said this course was his last option in getting onto an apprenticeship and he was grateful for the opportunity. He said if it had not been for The Prince's Trust and Get Into Construction he would never have been able to get his life back on track.
A further 23 courses are planned across the UK for 2007.