Forest family construction business puts money and effort where its mouth is

An innovative project from a long established Gloucestershire family business K W Bell Group to support the development of young construction workers has received almost £2 million of government funding.

The new Construction Education Centre will be built in Cinderford, Forest of Dean, where the company aims to establishing a centre of excellence to train the next generation in new construction skills.

Led by K W Bell Group, with the support of industry employers including global giant JCB, in collaboration with Gloucestershire College and the University of Gloucestershire, the Centre will train men and women equipped with knowledge and practical experience of the latest technological advances in sustainability and digital construction.

As Boris Johnson urges the UK to "Build Build Build",and the government announces an overhaul of the country’s outdated planning system to try and meet it's 300,000 new build housing target it set itself a few years ago, many more craftspeople will be needed.

So the 980m2 skills centre will include a schools’ programme to offer an introduction to the modern career opportunities available throughout the construction industry, including education pathways from 16-years up.

The blend of real and virtual learning environments, such as a mock ‘live’ construction site, high-tech digital machinery, drones for use by trainee surveyors and simulators for safely training operatives in the use of heavy plant, will all support learners and apprentices from NVQLevel 1 through to undergraduate degree. The Centre will also be used by tradespeople updating their industry-accredited qualifications, and employers upskilling their workforces

Nicola Bird, Safety and Business Development Director of K W Bell Group, said: “The construction industry has a serious skills shortage, both nationally and regionally, so it is vital that we act now to inspire, train and connect construction workers with forward-thinking employers and educators.” Nicola is a third-generation member of the founding Bell family and has been instrumental in driving this visionfor the project.

“Our industry has a crucial role to play in helping the UK to reach its carbon reduction targets, as well as drive forward the economythrough the Covid-19 recovery. Construction is changing. We must increase our capacity to retrofit energy products in existing propertiesand to accelerate the building of carbon neutral homes. This project will support these needs by working with local ‘green contractors’ to understand their skills requirements and will aim to introduce a sustainability programme within the first year of operation.”

Aside from the government funding of £1.96 million for capital build costs - part of a successful £11.3m bid by Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, GFirst LEP, for projects in the county - the remaining project costs, anticipated at around £700,000, are being funded by privately-owned K W Bell Group. The company has purchased the land and submitted a planning application to the Forest of Dean District Council.  Once planning approval has been granted, work will begin on site immediately, with the aim of being open for use at the end of 2021.

K W Bell Group will project manage the build, support the construction work, and undertake the day-to-day running of the Centre once complete.

The project is expected to deliver:

• Five new jobs (FTE) staffing the Centre in year one
• 200 CITB and industry-recognised qualifications in year one, rising to 500 per annum (pa) by year six
• 26 apprenticeships completed in year two, rising to 40 completions year on year from year three onwards
• 100 pupils per year attending the ‘Introduction to Construction’ Key Stage 4 School programme with speakers and career talks, rising to 500pa by year six