In conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), ‘Pathways to Construction’ begins today and will feature four-week long courses designed to have graduates ‘job ready’.

The tailor-made programme will be delivered by GTS’ in-house training team via an innovative online classroom experience and will cover key areas such as health and safety, first aid, soft skills and digital communications.

As part of the course, candidates will spend two weeks working in line with Morrison Construction on building sites in Edinburgh and East Lothian.

The initiative is aimed at motivated individuals who have experienced barriers to work as a result of the pandemic.

GTS Solutions operations director Tracey Smith said: “We are excited to be able to open up another training opportunity for people to help them into employment.

“We aim to support individuals, through education, to reduce the barriers to work. Our role as a social enterprise educator is to work in partnership with the government departments to support initiatives across employability. 

“This has been a very difficult and challenging year for a lot of people and it’s pleasing to be able to do this to hopefully help ease any hardship and stress.

“It is an intense programme and those who are successful will have the necessary certifications which will allow them to start work on a construction site.

“As a company, Morrison Construction focuses strongly on social values and that resonates with us so we are delighted to partner with them to deliver this initiative.”

Jim Johnstone, head of communities and social impact at Morrison Construction, said: “Morrison Construction is delighted to be working in partnership with GTS on this important programme, which is very much in line with our objective to encourage more industry entrants into construction. 

“We have a significant focus on assisting local communities in their community wealth building, and by creating programmes that can assist local people back to the world of work, we can be sure that we are achieving our aim of making a positive impact for the communities we work in.”

GTS Solutions CIC is the only Constructionline gold accredited social enterprise and support employer, delivering physical security services and employability.

The tie-up with the DWP is the latest in a series of collaborations.

Ms Smith added: “Our ongoing collaborative work with East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire and Dundee job centre locations are testimony to the working relationship we have with DWP work coaches and support staff.

“Even with the challenges presented in 2020 we were able to maintain 100% employability within our business sector. Also working across our DWP regions we were able to support 87.5% of our targeted positive outcomes into work.”