Unique academy to close Glasgow's skills gap

Twelve unemployed Glaswegians are the first of many to be given the opportunity to develop their kitchen fitting skills from this week.

Connaught has teamed up with GHA and South Lanarkshire College to provide a unique 12-week programme of training, placement and employment.

Alan Johnston, Community Training and Regeneration Manager of Connaught  Scotland, said: "The skills gap in construction is widely recognised by Government bodies and contractors alike.

"We are all keen to see unemployed people access employment in the construction industry. Our training programme not only provides valuable training and site experience, but can offer permanent employment too.

"This makes our proposition unique to our industry as it is employer led and targets unemployed people in the communities which we serve.

"Companies such as Moore's, who supplied the Academy kitchens free of charge, are an example of how keen Glasgow businesses are to support this initiative."

Delivering training throughout Glasgow the academy's hub will be at Connaught's Glasgow office in Cambuslang which serves projects across Scotland.

The facility strengthens the training and development centres supporting the group's initiative to train and employ local people, nationally.

The Connaught Academy is the umbrella under which Connaught partnerships are formalised. 

The Academy offers hard and soft skills training and works closely with the DTI, CITB, local authority initiatives and Business in the Community (BITC). 

It is also plays a fundamental role in Connaught's ability to attract, recruit and retain the best people. 

Connaught nationally employs 70% of its 4,000 workforce locally.

The CBI estimates that 350,000 skilled workers will be needed to meet the target of four million new homes by 2020.

Further plans are in place for development of a computer suite and rooms, in addition to the workshop area over the next few months.