Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, is to set up a national UK training academy following the award of £4.4 million of funding through the Government’s Employer Ownership of Skills pilot scheme.
Balfour Beatty will more than match the funding, through cash and in kind investment with a further £9 million to be in invested into establishing the academy and new training opportunities. The focus will be on up-skilling the company’s existing workforce in the construction and engineering sectors and will provide the young and unemployed with opportunities that lead directly to jobs.
The academy will bring together all of the company’s current training provision under a single, umbrella to offer a wider range of skills and professional qualifications. The more standardised approach will mean that these qualifications are transferable across the business and the industry.
Andrew McNaughton, Balfour Beatty CEO said:
“As the economic upturn gathers momentum, ensuring we have a workforce which has the training and skills to enable us to be a leader on the global infrastructure market remains our priority."
“We are delighted the Government, through the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot recognises that the academy approach will enable us to develop and retain some of the best qualified and most knowledgeable people in the industry. We are building a sustainable and flexible workforce which can deliver the innovation and value customers are seeking."
As a member of The 5% Club, Balfour Beatty is committed to giving young people and the unemployed a chance to get on the career ladder in those areas where skills are most short. The academy will offer pre-employment programmes to give young people and the unemployed a taste of the industry and then onto apprenticeships or jobs.
The international infrastructure group works with clients principally in the UK and the USA, and with developing businesses in Australia, Canada, the Middle East, South Africa and South East Asia.
Balfour Beatty's key market sectors focus on infrastructure - transportation (roads, rail and aviation), power and energy, water, and complex buildings (both commercial and social).
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