Building Briefs – October 28th

• Future bright sparks get first taste of electrical profession

Students from Edinburgh College, Dundee and Angus College and the Paisley campus of West College Scotland took part in the Get Into Electrical Installation programme, an intense taster course that allows candidates to make an informed choice about becoming an electrician. Now in its fifth year, it is a highly successful route into the Modern Apprenticeship programme and a first step towards gaining full-time employment.

The programme is run by the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), the body in charge of managing electrical apprenticeships in this country, and the Prince’s Trust youth charity dedicated to helping young people into employment. They are supported by funding from the Electrical Engineering Training Foundation of SELECT, the trade association for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland.

Applicants were pre-selected by the Prince’s Trust and invited to a taster day that involved practical skills and team building. They were then given an introduction into electrical skills on the six-week course.

This involved four weeks at college, with most of that time in the workshop. Candidates were then given maths tuition before sitting the SECTT pre-employment assessment.

They spent their fifth week on a work placement sourced by SECTT, followed by a final week of working on their CVs and a closing celebration event attended by family members, employers, SELECT, college staff, the SQA, Skills Development Scotland, SECTT and the Prince’s Trust.

Of the 10 from Edinburgh College who finished the course, four have secured full-time employment on the Modern Apprenticeship with others going on to SECTT’s electrical pre-apprenticeship programme. Seven candidates from West College Scotland completed the course, with two securing Modern Apprenticeships.

A dozen candidates from Dundee and Angus College started the course, with 11 completing it.

• Renfrewshire Council proposes Kilbarchan improvements project

Renfrewshire Council has proposed an improvement project for Kilbarchan’s Old Library, to maintain its status as a thriving community space.

With more than 5000 visitors using the hall every year for activities such as yoga, Pilates, Spanish lessons and amateur dramatics, the hall is key part of village life in Kilbarchan and has been for over 120 years.

The Kilbarchan Improvements Project would receive £22,000 to carry out repairs to the roof and top floor windows to help secure its position as heritage asset within the village and would be the first project to receive funding through the Villages Investment Fund.

The £1.87 million Green Spaces, Parks and Play Areas and Villages Investment Fund has been created to assist groups to bring in external funding, increase community participation in local areas and encourage the process of transferring assets to local communities.

• Orkney road and street improvement works announced

Orkney Islands Council has announced planned road and street improvement works in both Stromness and Kirkwall.

The council said that road maintenance work is planned for South End and Ness Road in Stromness, Monday 28 to Thursday 31 October.

Separately the next stage of the street improvement works will be carried out on a section of Palace Road in Kirkwall, at the junction with Broad Street and Victoria Street.

A road closure will come into effect during the week beginning Monday 28 October. It will affect the section of Palace Road between Broad Street and Watergate.

The works are being carried out as part of the Kirkwall Townscape Heritage Initiative (KTHI).