Building and construction
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With so many cranes currently dotted around the city centre, it is clear that Liverpool is enjoying a building boom unlike anything it has seen in over thirty years. Over £4billion of new developments have either been recently finished, or are on site; or are planned to happen in the next few years.
6.4% of all jobs in Liverpool are in the building industry. This compares to 9.4% in the rest of Great Britain. With the record number of building projects on site at the moment, the Liverpool figure still seems somewhat low. It is known that there are not enough skilled workers in this trade in Liverpool, and steps are being taken to address this problem.
Construction for Merseyside
Construction for Merseyside Ltd (CfM) has been set up to deliver the Merseyside Construction Initiative. This aims to help local people train to have the right skills to get construction jobs in the city.
The Board of CfM comprises the following leading developers:
- Beetham,
- David McLean,
- Grosvenor,
- Neptune Developments,
- Vermont Developments; and
- Urban Splash.
In addition, major construction companies operating here include:
- Bellway,
- Birse,
- Bovis,
- Carillion,
- Keir North West,
- Laing O'Rourke; and
- Mowlem.
Employers are encouraged to provide training places for local people. When planning permission for schemes is applied for, the applicant is asked to sign up to the Merseyside Construction Charter. By doing this, building firms must agree to provide training placements available within their main company; they must also make sure their subcontractors and suppliers comply with this as well.
Information on new and future schemes is gathered and fed through to advise JobCentre+ and Connexions, so that the numbers of new jobs and potential training places can be worked out.
Throughout 2005, CfM worked with the Learning & Skills Council Greater Merseyside (LSCGM) to develop a local skills agreement. This forms the blueprint for its work with employers, training providers, and public sector partners. With funding from Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWRA), Cityfocus SRB and Government, the initiative was launched in early 2006.
Its priorities are:
- a comprehensive programme of job matching;
- creating opportunities for apprenticeships and work placements;, and
- employer support.
To find out more, you can visit the Construction for Merseyside website. Here, you will find copies of the Merseyside Construction Charter; and the Merseyside Construction Training Agreement.