THE latest troop of forces personnel has been offered a bright future in civvy street after leaving a North-East college with new-found expertise.
And the work of the tri-service military and construction charity Building Heroes has been secured for another year thanks to the renewal of a partnership with Darlington College and sponsors house builder Lovell and civil engineering giant Morgan Sindall.
The latest students to graduate the Building Heroes programme were presented with certificates at a special ceremony at Darlington College.
The project offers intense training for UK military veterans, families and service leavers to help them transition into construction trades such as carpentry, plumbing, bricklaying, electrical, tiling, painting, plant machinery operation and even new green skills. It also connects them with employers in order to develop a second career in construction.
Darlington College curriculum manager Luke Gate said: “It is great to have the servicemen and women in the building as they influence our other students in a good way. This initiative just felt right from the beginning and is going from strength to strength. We are now looking for other opportunities within the construction industry to widen what we can offer Building Heroes.”
Building Heroes chief executive Chris Charles added: “Partnerships have made something that was a good idea into something with real impact. Our aim now is to build our support with the transition process by developing skills.
“I am proud of the partnership we have with Darlington College. I am very fond of the college because it always says yes and asks for more and that secures our future.”
For student Jemma Dinning, of Bishop Auckland, the course proved the ideal opportunity to develop the skills she learned in the Army for civilian life.
The 37-year-old has served for 13 years in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers but leaves in January.
She said: “I always wanted to work with vehicles and thought the best opportunities would be in the Army, where I was also able to continue my other passion, playing football.
“The Building Heroes course was amazing and the tutors made it so easy for us to fit in; they knew how to talk to us. I found the tiling module really therapeutic and I would now like to go into project work around quantity surveying. Because of the strength of the Building Heroes network I have already had a few offers.”
Lovell major project director John Leary said: “We hope all the graduates find a second fulfilling career on construction. We certainly found it an enriching experience meeting the services personnel and we hope we’ll be able to enhance the offering at Darlington College.”
Head of design at Morgan Sindall Andrew Waddington said: “I was in the military and the challenges I faced in transition motivate me now. The course gives a valuable insight into the construction industry which offers a dynamic and broad range of careers.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.