Nottingham recruitment initiative boosts local skills 

Graham’s project management and social impact teams have worked with Nottingham City Council and local stakeholders to design and implement CRE-8, a pre-employment programme aimed at supporting local people into construction jobs.  

The focus of the programme is to help local people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and long-term unemployed to access CSCS accreditation, work-based experience and opportunities into sustained local employment.  

Local stakeholders include Nottingham City Council’s jobs hub construction team, Nottingham Department for Work and Pensions, The Skills People, and recruitment agencies Linsco and Falcon Green.   

All partners are responsible for recruiting suitable delegates, providing training through skills bootcamps, matching delegates with their host employer for work-based placements, and offering sustainable local employment opportunities for delegates who successfully complete the programme.  

Ronan Hughes, regional director at Graham, said: “We are proud to roll out this innovative and collaborative working partnership introducing new talent to our current and future projects and are excited to see it roll out in other regions too.  

“We strive to ensure that our projects create upskilling opportunities and invest in the community’s future. It is pleasing to see all the applicant’s hard work rewarded.”

The CRE-8 programme has been implemented across Graham’s Queen’s Road residential development, as well as other sites including Well Meadow in Sheffield. There are plans to roll out the programme on other developments including The Crown Works in Birmingham, Mossley Hill Hospital in Liverpool, and Hinchingbrooke Theatres in Cambridge. 

Ricky Flintoff, employer engagement and apprenticeship officer in Nottingham City Council’s jobs hub construction team, said: “It’s been really refreshing to be part of this innovative programme. Often, similar schemes with the best intentions fall short because it just hasn’t been possible to square the circle.  

“The foresight, drive, and commitment of all the partners delivering the CRE-8 programme means that we can provide pre-employment training, site work experience, employment opportunities, and follow-on career enhancing training for Nottingham residents wanting to enter the construction sector. It really is making a difference.”