Councillor Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) introduced the item and highlighted:

a)    Building Plymouth had been established in 2015 and was celebrating its 10th anniversary as an award?winning council?led sector skills partnership with the construction and built environment community;

b)    The partnership had driven skills, training and employment, facilitated social value, acted as a united industry voice, and underpinned delivery of the city’s ambitious capital build programme and the transition to a net?zero carbon economy;

c)    The initiative had inspired the next generation (e.g., Mission Mammoth/Steamfest at The Box with Arts University Plymouth), celebrated construction apprentices, and made strong progress with the Adopt?a?School programme, with extensive voluntary time from industry partners;

d)    Building Plymouth had a substantial and a breadth of cross?city support;

Emma Hewitt (Skills Lead), Martin Daw (Operations Director, JEM Scaffolding) and Sam Morcumb (Business Development Bid Manager SW, BuildX) added:

e)    Over the past decade the partnership had delivered a coordinated action plan to build a skilled workforce aligned to a growing construction pipeline with more than 70 partners now contributing annually;

f)     The programme had attracted additional resources (including two full?time construction coordinators funded via the Department of Work and Pensions) and established a trusted cross?system infrastructure spanning clients, consultants, main contractors, the supply chain, training providers and Jobcentre Plus;

g)    The partner base included major clients such as University Hospitals Plymouth, Babcock, University of Plymouth, Plymouth Community Homes and Plymouth City Council (PCC);

h)    Building Plymouth had received multiple awards for corporate social responsibility (CSR), apprenticeships, and people & culture, and had informed the Council’s wider skills approach;

i)     Workstreams covered:

                      i.        demand forecasting (forward programme, risks/opportunities, transparency for local firms);

                     ii.        supply (attracting/retaining/progressing the workforce);

                    iii.        provision (ensuring local training aligned to employer needs);

                    iv.        pipeline (early inspiration with children and young people);

j)     Employment & skills plans were enforced on major sites, maximising those sites for careers engagement;

k)    A client group improved visibility of the forward workload;

l)     Economic Development had asked Building Plymouth to lead a new Construction Task Force;

m)  The partnership coordinated in?kind support to resolve the Keyham garden recovery (following the discovery and extraction of a World War II bomb), leveraging relationships to deliver £40,000 of works without direct funding;

n)    The programme aligned with Skills Launchpad Plymouth and “Connect to Work” to reach jobseekers and economically inactive residents, service leavers (with the Career Transition Partnership at HMS Drake), and those in the criminal justice system, offering coordinated attraction, training, retention and in?work progression;

o)    JEM Scaffolding had experienced historic challenges retaining new labourers, and how a Launchpad “hard?hat ready” event transformed outcomes. Of 18-20 candidates, 11 were hired and seven retained;

p)    Recruitment of prison leavers had been a major success; one former prisoner had progressed to a trusted supervisor running a large contract;

q)    Further sessions were planned (including apprentices on 20 January and outreach at HMP Channings Wood). The company had upskilled its entire workforce (c. 50 courses in two years), feeding talent bottom?up and preparing for the city’s pipeline;

r)    There was an explore, encourage, empower, equip, employ pathway from Key Stage 1 to sustained employment;

s)     Evidence showed visible role models strongly influenced career choice, and employer encounters/work experience improved attainment;

t)     Activities included: Key Stage 1 literacy/bug?house builds (with Kier), a spring community project to renovate a PCC garden at zero cost, Mission Mammoth, careers fairs, work experience weeks, expanded;

u)    Adopt?a?School had 21 schools matched to industry partners;

v)    There had been an increase in nominations for the Ron Simmons Apprentice of the Year Award;

w)   Inclusion efforts included the Learning Support Fund, Disability Confident awareness and Connect to Work.

During the discussion, the following was covered:

x)    Praise for the collaborative Team Plymouth ethos, noting the projected high number of jobs in the city over the next decade and the need to raise awareness of modern construction careers, to grow talent and encourage people to learn, live and work in Plymouth;

y)    Skills Launchpad Plymouth provided weekly impartial information, advice and guidance, with drop?ins, booked appointments, remote access advice, training mailers, and route?planning for all ages and circumstances, acting as a one?stop shop for construction skills, training, education and jobs;

z)    It was noted that Building Plymouth was engaged with the Growth Board and had contractor/consultant representation on the Employment & Skills Board;

aa)  Cabinet members urged further public communications beyond the sector to share the partnership’s success and opportunities.