Tunnel offers vision for boosting construction skills

A partnership designed to help overcome training and employment barriers and create a skills legacy linked to the Lower Thames Crossing has launched a training initiative.

Highways England has joined forces with Gallagher Group, one of the South East’s premier aggregates, groundworks, civil engineering and property development companies, and Flannery Plant Hire, a leader in UK plant supply and skills bootcamp training, to create the Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hub pilot.

Launched at Gallagher’s Hermitage Quarry, it was officially opened by Lord David Blunkett, Skills Advisor for the Lower Thames Crossing. The Skills Hub pilot is providing work-based training courses for participants that include men and women on day release from Kent-based prisons and local people already in the construction workforce seeking higher skilled jobs.

Speaking at the launch, Lord Blunkett said: “It’s no secret there is a national shortage of skills across the country which poses a significant challenge to economic growth. The Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hubs will break down barriers to opportunity by tackling skills shortages today, and by forging a pathway to a high-skills economy, and resilient future for the construction industry in Kent, Essex, and the region.”

The service seeks to break down employment barriers for local people including prison leavers, long-term unemployed, and women returners by offering free training at an affordable rate for businesses.

Welcoming the audience of more than 150 construction industry leaders, Sean Connor, Managing Director of Gallagher Group added: “Kent is calling out for better training prospects so we’re delighted to be involved in driving that change. At the moment, when we’re arranging training for our workforce it often means sending them across the country wasting extra time and costs. The Skills Hubs offers a huge opportunity for businesses like ours, but also SMEs across the area with little to no cost for upskilling their workforce.”

The attending business leaders were given the opportunity to pledge their support towards leaving a skills legacy for the construction industry through the Lower Thames Crossing. The pilot initiative was welcomed by Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, and the team leading the Local Skills Improvement Plan, with construction one of the key focus sectors.

The training will improve participants’ access to higher skilled and better paid work by prioritising in-demand skills and those needed to deliver the next generation of low-carbon and modern construction projects. More than 20 people will take part in the pilot, including six men and women on day release from Stanford Hill and East Sutton Park prisons in Kent, who will gain the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card ready to work on site, along with guaranteed job interviews through Gallagher’s and Flannery’s supply chains. Other attendees, who are already in local employment, will gain site supervisor qualifications enabling them to progress into more senior roles.

Following the pilot, the plan is to roll out a series of Skills Hubs across Kent and Essex in 2025. These will be in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), local education providers and the project’s supply chain to continue addressing local skills needs after construction of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.