Celebrating their success – Burngreave construction trainees Jason Scott (front left), Paul Ndegwa (front second left), Jamshid Dehchaei (front third right) and Hassan Alin (front right) with other colleagues on the construction employment project.

Four Burngreave residents have already undergone an intensive three-month training period with local construction organisation Sheffield Rebuild and they are now working on construction sites throughout South Yorkshire with Chantry Builders.

The four come from a range of backgrounds - 30-year old Hassan Alin was born in Somalia and is keen to gain and develop skills in the construction industry; 38-year old Jamshid Dehchaei came to Sheffield as an asylum seeker and is now hoping to develop his existing joinery skills; 31-year old Paul Ndegwa has recently arrived from Kenya to join his family in the UK; and 24-year old Jason Scott had hoped to pursue a career in football until an injury brought his original plan to an end.

All four are now developing their new skills in a real work environment - where they are on the same terms and conditions, including pay, as the rest of the workforce.

Five more local recruits who have just been taken on - three as trainee bathroom fitters and two as trainee groundworkers, performing tasks such as kerb laying and drainage works - will closely follow their entry into the building world.

According to Project Manager Tricia Slater, the aim of the project is to identify real job opportunities in the industry, with a sustainable future, and to help Burngreave residents take full advantage of these jobs.

“This is not a short-term fix. We know that the construction industry needs many more trained and capable workers - not just for the immediate future, but also for many years to come. We work closely with reputable trainers and building contractors to provide real jobs in areas where there are lots of people looking for work and limited long-term job opportunities.

“The support from Burngreave New Deal for Communities has enabled us to extend the project, providing more training and job opportunities for local people. Expansion and development of the project will continue over the next eighteen months.”