Three major construction firms from Northern Ireland have collaborated to deliver a series of schools in a contract worth £70m in the Scottish Western Isles.

Farrans, H&J Martin and Patton, working under the joint-venture name of FMP, beat off stiff competition to win the construction contract for six schools as part of the Western Isles Schools Project (WISP) funded by the Scottish Government.

In the past seven years FMP has won around £350m of business including work on 45 educational facilities.

The latest contract represents the single biggest ever capital project on the Western Isles.

The WISP generated £35m for the local economy and at its peak 300 jobs were created throughout the construction project with over 3,500 site inductions across the new school sites.

The WISP contract was a challenging and rewarding series of projects to manage; working on an island created significant access and logistical barriers, while the weather conditions forced FMP to halt work on a number of occasions.

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Work on the schools which comprised a mix of new-build and refurbishment began two years ago.

Each of the schools has secured BREEAM Excellent accreditation, one of the most comprehensive and widely recognised measures of a building’s environmental performance.

Combined, the six schools have provided over 28,000 m2 of facility floor space and will accommodate over almost 2,000 pupils in pre-school, primary and secondary education.

All that remains to be completed is the final phase at Daliburgh Primary School, where FMP will be off site by December 2012 and a second phase of works at the largest school, the Nicolson Institute, Stornoway. Demolishing the now vacated old school at Nicolson will allow FMP to construct the dedicated bus and car parking as well as a full size grass pitch commencing in August 2012 for completion in January 2013.

As part of FMP’s commitment to integrating with the communities on the Western Isles FMP provided opportunities for the long-term unemployed to work on the projects. FMP worked closely and engaged directly with ConstructionSkills, Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation (SNIPEF) and Skills Development Scotland through the 'Adopt an Apprentice' scheme.

This initiative targeted redundant apprentices offering them a second chance to complete their apprenticeship training.

A key element of FMP's activity was focused on working collaboratively to safeguard apprentices on the islands who had been made redundant. This scheme is one of the biggest success stories that has come about as a result of the WISP. FMP is delighted to have contributed to giving so many unemployed and apprentices’ job opportunities during the construction of the six schools.