School leavers and graduates are helping construct an eye-catching building in Huddersfield.
The University of Huddersfield and contractor Morgan Sindall are giving young people the chance to lay the foundations of their careers while working on the construction of the landmark Oastler Building at Shorehead.
So far, 10 full-time apprentices have worked on the scheme – both directly for Morgan Sindall and for a number of subcontractors involved in the build. They include HW Architectural, Elland Steel and Horbury Building Systems.
Among those taking part, apprentice welders Connor Moss, Lee Horsfall, Tom Dawton and Max Lawton are working with Halifax-based Elland Steel as part of a training certificate. They have been fabricating and welding steel components as part of the building’s 600-tonne frame, which is largely composed of British steel.
Graduate Callum McCoy has been working as a project manager for Brighouse-based HW Architectural and has been helping to oversee the installation of £300,000 of toughened curtain wall glazing.
Brad Speed and Billy Doggs, both in the second year of their dry lining/interior systems apprenticeship, are working on the building’s partition walls with Horbury Building Systems, based in Rotherham.
And Nasreen Issa, who recently graduated from the University of Salford and joined Morgan Sindall on a placement, has been helping to project manage the build since May.
She said: “The experience I’ve gained so far has been invaluable and I’m grateful to be working on such an impressive building for my first job in the industry. It’s also really rewarding to contribute to a project that, once complete, is going to be of enormous benefit to the area I’ve grown up in.”
Colin Blair, the university’s director of estates, said: “I am really pleased that our latest project at the University of Huddersfield is offering so many exciting opportunities to apprentices. I myself entered the construction industry at the age of 16 and completed a five-year apprenticeship, so I speak from the heart.
“As a university, we offer a massive range of academic opportunities – mainly degree courses – but our continual programme of campus development is also providing a valuable education and career step-ups for the full-time apprentices taken on by Morgan Sindall and its sub-contractors. In years to come they will be able to look at the fabulous Oastler Building and say: ‘I contributed to that’.”
Mark Heginbotham, project director at Morgan Sindall, said: “We’ve been working with local suppliers throughout the build and it’s great to be able to offer these work placements in conjunction with the university. Encouraging young people to embark on careers in the construction industry is something we’re passionate about.
“We’re particularly proud of the progress Nasreen has made with us as a graduate project manager. There’s still a gender imbalance in the construction industry and Morgan Sindall is committed to playing its part in redressing it.”
The £27.5m Oastler Building is on schedule for completion by early 2017. Named after 19th century social reformer Richard Oastler, it will house the university’s Law School and School of Music, Humanities and Media.
