Students sport an interest in old leisure centre site
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Students from North Shropshire College have been undertaking work experience on a new development of 46 homes. A mixture of two and three bedroom homes are being built for The Trust by contractor Jessup at the site of Oswestry’s former leisure centre adjacent to the college.
The students, who are studying Level 1 and 2 Plumbing with City and Guilds, have been able to spend up to two days on site and after being fully briefed about health and safety, have spent time observing all aspects of work from groundworks to plastering.
Level two students Cameron Oliver and Mitch Ellis said: “It has been great to see the entire site being worked on and talk with the different trades on site. Getting up onto the scaffold and seeing the roof and guttering works has been a highlight. We both feel inspired to look into apprenticeships to further our knowledge of construction and start a career.”
Course tutor Nic Davies said: “This has been an eye opening experience for our students. Explaining in the workshop is great but you can’t beat seeing what you have learnt being put into practice. I’ve also seen the students really engage with discussions about various aspects of the homes being built.”
Alan Mason, Senior Clerk of Works for The Wrekin Housing Trust, said: “It’s brilliant to see students taking a real interest in the various aspects of construction work required to develop our new homes. Working alongside a contactor like Jessup offers a real opportunity to learn and get a feel for the type of jobs that may be available to them in the future. The development of this site will provide 106 jobs including five construction apprentice positions”
Peter Butler, General Manager from Jessup, said: “Jessup is pleased to work with The Wrekin Housing Trust to be able to offer valuable work experience to students from North Shropshire College on the College Road development of 46 new homes. This gives them a flavour of a real construction site and the students have been fascinated by the busy environment and wide variety of activities that go into delivering high quality affordable housing.”
The new homes will be affordably let once completed next year.
17th March 2017