Bilston Leisure Centre
At our Bilston Leisure Centre £14.9m project, Shepherd’s project team, in partnership with Wolverhampton City Council, is developing and delivering a major social and economic regeneration plan. Our collective aims are to look at how we can best engage with the local community, enhance training opportunities and also assist the local economy.
“Shepherd Construction’s Local Engagement and Training Plan has proved to be a very useful tool for Wolverhampton Council to target and monitor areas which were identified at tender stage as being of particular concern to us: training, local employment, supply chain management, community engagement and public relations……Shepherd’s constructive and positive approach to this work means that we have seen improvements in local consultation. …..I would commend this approach to any client with an interest in the benefits their scheme will bring to local people and businesses or with a wish to give their scheme the best change of being integrated into the community”.
Jeff Phelps, Project Manager, Wolverhampton City Council
At our Bilston Leisure Centre £14.9m project, Shepherd’s project team, in partnership with Wolverhampton City Council, is developing and delivering a major social and economic regeneration plan. Our collective aims are to look at how we can best engage with the local community, enhance training opportunities and also assist the local economy.
During the contract period, our plan commits to:
- Providing at least 170 weeks work placement training for New Construction Trainees
- Providing ‘back to work’ training/ job shadowing opportunities to enable local unemployed people to get experience needed to get back into the job market, working with Jobs Centre Plus
- Purchasing a minimum of 20% by value of the materials to be used on the project from local suppliers within the Wolverhampton Council district boundary
- Working with the local school (South Wolverhampton & Bilston Academy) to provide guest lectures and site visits throughout the period of the project
The latest recruit to the scheme is 20-year-old Amy Snee, has secured work on the site as a result of Shepherd’s commitment to find employment opportunities for local people. Amy is already gaining valuable full-time experience as a receptionist and document controller in the site’s office for the next 12 months.
To date, Shepherd and its sub-contractor partners have employed 19 people from the local area to work on the site. More paid work placements, providing vital experience to job seekers, will be created as the construction programme progresses.
The use of local supply chain partners is also being promoted throughout the construction works, with approximately £1,137,000 already being spent locally, equalling 13% of the current overall spend.
Local school Loxdale Primary School has also been benefiting from Shepherd’ s presence in Bilston and an active school engagement plan is underway. Pupils have attended participative and educational sessions led by Shepherd on safety, making the news, how construction works, the history of Bilston and Health and Fitness. Pupils are also keeping log books up to date on the progress of the scheme, with photography taken on site.