County Down headquartered, GRAHAM, has implemented its CRE8 scheme at Mossley Hill Mental Health Facility’s construction site in Liverpool.

The pre-employment programme creates sustainable employment opportunities for local disadvantaged people as it aims to combat local unemployment/underemployment, attracting emerging talent to work in the construction industry.

A key aspect of CRE8 is the involvement of local recruitment and employability service partners, each specialising in their area of expertise. These partners are tasked with recruiting suitable candidates, offering pre-employment training, matching delegates with appropriate host employers, delivering CSCS-accredited site-based work experience, providing sustainable local job opportunities and offering ongoing career advice. This comprehensive approach makes CRE8 the first initiative of its kind in the construction sector.

In collaboration with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Nobody Left Behind, and Building Careers UK, five delegates recently completed GRAHAM’s latest CRE8 program, gaining hands-on experience at the construction site of the new Mossley Hill Mental Health Facility.

-- Advertisement --

GRAHAM, SCS, Kinlan Brickwork and A+B Engineering hosted the delegates, providing each of them with a five-day work placement. During the week, the delegates gained an insight into the different roles each company plays, and their importance to the site and project.

The CRE8 work placements offer delegates valuable real-world experience in the construction industry and the focus of this project allowed them to gain specialised knowledge about the requirements for building mental health facilities.

By the end of the week, one delegate received a full-time job offer from their CRE8 host employer. The remaining delegates have registered with Building Careers UK, which will assist them in finding suitable, sustainable local employment opportunities.

Andy Whalley, CRE8 delegate, said: "I really enjoyed it, and it has benefited me in experience and employment on site."

Peter Reavey, Regional Director at GRAHAM, stated: "Having just delivered our ninth CRE8 programme, this evidences the positive impact social value initiatives can have on the local communities we work in. By developing strong collaborative partnerships, CRE8 is leading the way to support disadvantaged people help gain local sustainable employment opportunities."

Mersey Care's Chief Finance Officer, Rob Collins, commented: "Mersey Care sees itself at the heart of our local communities and supporting people's wellbeing. We have a strong record of working with the community during the building stages of our new facilities. As we look to delivering this new mental healthcare facility for patients, I am pleased to endorse the engagement with these five local delegates as they play their part in understanding how a facility like this comes together."

Darren Friend, CEO at SCS, said: "As we all know, the construction industry has a skills shortage that means over 250,000 extra skilled workers are required by 2028. We’re proud to be working with GRAHAM to introduce individuals to the industry as part of the CRE8 programme. We are very excited to have found Andy Whalley who is now part of the construction team on Mossley Hill Hospital, learning the skills needed to become a Dryliner/Ceiling Fixer."