Flower Skills and Training - Specialists in Construction Training

Summer courses held at Flower Skills and Training in Charlton prove to be the turning point in the lives of 23 local 15 – 16 year olds.

Working towards various certificates in basic construction skills, adult literacy, first aid, health and safety, a group of year 11 students who had previously struggled with motivation and commitment to mainstream education, excelled in vocational training and achieved outstanding attendance rates.

Keeping young people occupied during the summer break from school can be a big challenge. Encouraged to do something productive with their time these 15 – 16 year olds were coached in the career opportunities available through the construction industry and were supported in exploring their potential in different trades. In addition to gaining experience in building craft occupations, the young people gained self esteem and confidence whilst developing social skills working on employer presentation and team building exercises.

The course ran for 2 days a week for 7 weeks. As a supporter of the programme, Gerry Craig of Construction Skills commented:

“The construction sector in the UK faces major skills shortages. The Flower Skills Summer School programme supports bridging the gap by both inspiring young people to develop a career in construction and directly benefiting the local community. With all the major construction projects in the area and the onset of 2012 it is an opportune time for young people to get involved.”

87% of students completed the course
90% earned Construction Skills Unit Credits
100% student satisfaction

Flower Skills and Training is an NVQ/CITB accredited construction skills training centre based in Charlton, South East London. Working with young people and adults, Flower Skills offers a wide range of training services supporting both local employers develop and ‘up skill’ their employees and individuals build up skills helping them find employment. Other courses offered include CSCS Card training, ESOL, fire warden training. Other courses available on request.

Flower Skills and Training Partnership Increases Profits for Local Business

Bespoke Course Brings Fantastic Results for Staff Development and the Bottom Line for
Leading London Builders Merchant

Working closely with builders merchant Castle Timber, Flower Skills and Training tailored a specialist training programme Castles staff which proved to be rewarding on many levels. By understanding Castles business objectives and development needs, a short hands-on course was developed which quickly lead to increased margin, strategic development of branch layout and improved stock merchandising.

In working as a partnership with Castle, Flower Skills and Training were able to get to grips with the challenges their business was facing. From this approach, Flower Skills and Training was able to put together a training package to address issues in product awareness, merchandising and customer service. The course is being rolled out to 100 employees at Castle, from the Branch Managers of their 5 stores, to the new school leaver trainees.

“It was hard work and a real eye opener; I was tired out by the end of the day! By knowing more about what my customers do in their jobs I can help them more and support them with product choices. Plus it helps me sell more!”
PO (Sales Person)

“Brilliant! The staff at Flowers were really helpful. It was really useful to learn to see things from a customer perspective. More of the same please.”
DW (Desk Sales Person)

“Getting hands on was fun and useful. I didn’t realise how making a change to some of the small things can really make a difference.”
(Deputy Manager)

• Branch margin up by 6%
• Increased average ticket values and number of items per transaction
• Improved customer satisfaction

Mick Feleppa, Business Development Director for Castle commented:

“On an individual level the trainees’ understanding of the issues were bench checked at the beginning of the day and at the end of the course measured again. The improvements totally exceeded our expectations. As a result, Castle margin is now ahead of budget and up on last year’s rate. By developing our staff understanding of our customers, we can now provide a better service.”

Local Business Scoops the Construction Industry's Rising Stars

In today’s competitive environment in the construction industry where skilled people are in short supply, finding and retaining the right staff can be a challenging task. Working as a partnership with Flower Skills and Training, Castle Timber a local employer, took the pick of the crop of students following a six month engagement programme, and already they are proving to be valuable new additions to the team.

Flower Skills works with the local schools by supporting students from a range of diverse backgrounds who struggle with a typing mainstream schooling environment and providing them with vocational training and experience in building craft trades. Young people can work towards NVQ level qualifications, GCSEs and Construction Skills Units. The type of courses available range from manual handling, first aid and health and safety, through to plumbing, plastering, brick laying, carpentry, tiling, basic electrics and painting and decorating. Support in numeric skills and literacy is also available.

Taking a sustainable approach to recruitment, Castle sponsored an Environmental Project at Flower
Skills, where the year 11 students were tasked with designing a campaign for certified timber procurement. Coached by Flower Skills and Training, the 15 – 16 year olds got their heads together to research and understand the implications of illegal timber in construction, and were asked to develop a multi media presentation for local businesses and key figures in the area.

A Modern Approach to Recruitment Provides Fantastic Career Opportunities for Top of the Class Flower Skills and Training Students

The students examined local regeneration projects in the area, including a site visit to the Countryside Property Plc Greenwich Peninsular development, to look at different ways in which environmentally sustainable outcomes can be achieved in construction.

Through support in work experience, and allowing the students to interview their staff and customers, the Castle management acted as mentors to the students. After completing the project, the students presented to Constructing Excellence’s Thames Gateway Excellence Club. By working together with Castle the students got a taste for working life in a builder’s merchants, and saw the opportunities for career progression.

Committed to developing the next generation of the construction industry, the staff at Castle recognised true potential and positive attitude in the young Flower Skills students and have since employed 4 of the rising stars.

Mick Feleppa, Business Development Director for Castle Timber added, ‘It was a double win for us to work with Flower Skills and Training. We were able to support a local community project and be able to find some new young talent for our business. Our recruits are great guys with positive drive and management potential. I’m looking forward to seeing their careers grow with us.’