Graham Construction welcomes students on site through pre-apprenticeship college course

The visit to the construction firm’s £18.6 million, 416-bed student accommodation project at St. James Road in Glasgow was arranged as part of the company’s pledge to support a construction course at New College Lanarkshire.

The Graham Pre-Apprentice Course was introduced to allow students to identify and associate themselves with a potential employer at an early stage to give them a greater understanding of the construction industry.

As part of the partnership agreement Graham staff also provide employability support and regularly visit the Motherwell-based campus to give career talks and advice.

In addition to visits to live construction sites, the pre-apprentice course also aligns students with a six-week work placement covering various trades. They will be based on different sites as part of the HFS2 Lanarkshire framework and St. James’s Road project.

Debbie Rutherford, Graham’s regional community benefits advisor who helped set up the course, said: “It’s fantastic to be working in partnership with New College Lanarkshire supporting young people to help realise their potential and the various career options within the construction industry.

“Graham Construction fully supports the ‘Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce’ agenda to improve skills, knowledge and prospects for young people and will continue to provide these opportunities in the coming years.”

Graham Construction is a member of the “5% Club”, an organisation consisting of companies committed to ensuring 5% of their workforce over the next five years is comprised of young people on structured learning schemes.

Across Scotland 14 per cent of Graham’s workforce is involved in these schemes, of which nine per cent are apprentices.

In addition to the traditional trade apprenticeship route, Graham has developed a strong focus on technical apprenticeships which are aimed at providing young people with professional career pathways into areas such as Construction Management and Quantity Surveying.

The company has established the Graham Academy to tackle the looming skills-shortage in the construction industry. This is an entry-level programme for young people to pursue a career in construction.

More than 100 young people have already been enrolled with the academy, which offers nationally-recognised qualifications alongside paid work experience and permanent employment.

Martyn Campbell, curriculum and quality leader in construction at New College Lanarkshire added: “The construction team is delighted to be working in partnership with Graham. The value to our students that this opportunity presents cannot be overstated.

“This opportunity will allow students to consolidate their learning in real world, large scale environments that learning establishments simply cannot facilitate alone.

“Debbie and the whole team from Graham Construction have thrown their full support behind this partnership and it is our students who now stand to gain from their hard work and dedication.

“On behalf of all of the students who are included in this partnership I would like to extend a heartfelt and genuine thank you to Debbie and the team.”

One of the Graham Pre-Apprentice Course students taking part in the visit, Shannon Docherty, 16, from Pather in Wishaw, said: “I found the site tour really useful. I’m interested in becoming a painter and decorator, so it was fascinating to see the various states of finish on each floor of the building.

“The project manager took us on a tour of each floor. I didn’t realise that in a building like this the interior work is done from the top floor down.

“Today’s visit gave us a real insight into how it all works.”