Housebuilding firm’s MD in college visit

Fareham College had a visit from the managing director of a Hampshire housebuilder last week to help accelerate next generation learning programmes for future construction workers.

James Dunne, manager director of Barratt Homes Southampton Division, attended Fareham College’s Civil Engineering Training Centre (CETC) and toured its state-of-the-art facilities, set up in 2017 to address the skills shortage hindering civil engineering growth and expansion in the south of England.

Its high-profile apprenticeship programme has been supporting the industry ever since, by creating more jobs and opportunities for skilled groundworkers in the region.

James was shown around CETC’s purpose-built twoacre mock construction site, dedicated to the delivery of its specialist Civil Engineering and Groundworks Apprenticeship, and looked around neighbouring classroom areas, where relevant theory is taught to support the students’ practical training.

Barratt Homes is committed to providing career prospects for young people in the local area, and the MD was keen to see how the developer could widen its support for budding construction workers, in collaboration with CETC.

James said: ‘At Barratt, we want to provide young people with an alternative to full-time university study by helping them to explore their potential in the building industry.

‘We already offer apprenticeship schemes to the next generation of tradespeople but are looking to expand this support. CETC is offering an incredible facility.’