Building Lives, an innovative training organisation established by London contractor Lakehouse, is set to open three more academies by the end of the year, as more local authorities start leveraging their construction spend to provide training and employment for local people.
New academies are due to be open by Christmas in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark and Camden. Four academies are already in operation, with six others planned for 2014 elsewhere in London, including Richmond and Croydon. Each academy trains 50 individuals at a time. “We can’t roll them out quick enough,” said Building Lives founder, Steve Rawlings.
The academies have pioneered a model whereby an apprentice gains a Level 2 NVQ in 18 months rather than two years. Young people are also guaranteed an apprenticeship with a contractor, which Rawlings says sets Building Lives apart from other contractor-led training centres.
Steve Rawlings set up Building Lives in 2010 and plans to set up more academies around London
Trainees initially complete an NVQ1 in 10 weeks and for the second part of their apprenticeship work on site two days a week for a variety of “partner” contractors delivering council contracts.
Building Lives, a registered social enterprise and Community Interest Company, also targets hard-to-reach and under-represented groups, including the homeless, women, and young offenders.
Around 200 people have completed the 18-month apprenticeship, which is part-funded by the CITB.
Rawlings has been running Building Lives as a subsidiary of his construction firm, Lakehouse, where he is still he chief executive, but the two entities are in the process of being separated.
Rawlings, who started as an apprentice roofer himself 40 years ago, set up the first one in 2010 in partnership with a social landlord, college and homeless persons charity after discovering that 47% of people living in social housing lived in families that had experienced three generations of unemployment.
“The first academy proved very successful and we realised we had a model that really was helping to build the lives of lots of people,” said Rawlings. Building Lives is now looking for £750,000 in funding to provide cash to extend the concept across more authorities.
