Skills Centre Gives Local Access to Education
Since its inception in 2010, Barrhead Skills Centre has gone from strength to strength, successfully delivering training programmes aimed at individuals from across the East Renfrewshire area. The joint initiative between Reid Kerr College and East Renfrewshire Council has already seen its first roll of students achieve recognised qualifications and secure work in a range of sectors including Engineering, Construction, Industrial Services and Landscape Gardening.
Murdoch’s Recycling has employed two former candidates from the Skills Centre. Paul Folwer, 35 and James Thomas, 44 both from Barrhead have been based at the Darnley plant since June this year. James said, “The 8 weeks at the centre was a good positive experience and I achieved what I went there to do. As part of the training we were given the chance to get our CSCS card which was one of the things that attracted me to the course.” Paul added, “The Skills Centre gave us a chance to network with fellow candidates and was a gateway to finding work which was the main purpose for me taking this training on. After finishing at the centre, it was then down to workER, who secured the 6 month contract at Murdoch’s and we are hoping to continue to work there after the New Year.”
Bernie Hughes, Operations Manager (Waste) at J & M Murdoch’s said, “Here at J & M Murdoch we are a family based company with 46 years of experience in waste recycling. We have around 90 employees who are mostly from the local area. The new skills centre in Barrhead will give more local unemployed people the chance to prepare for work with the qualifications and skills needed. I do hope other companies will follow us in giving the candidates at the centre a chance of employment.”
Skills Centre Manager Tommy Reilly said, “We are immensely proud of these students and how they have taken the opportunities open to them and worked hard to achieve their employment goals. Partnership support has been key to the success of the Centre and East Renfrewshire Council’s ‘workER’ has been instrumental in developing work placements, which are crucial to the success of any Skills Centre candidate.”
Barrhead Skills Centre is now a specialist training facility for Skills Development Scotland’s flagship programmes, Get Ready for Work (GRFW) and Training for Work (TFW) as well as an Intermediate 2 Construction programme open to S5 school pupils in East Renfrewshire.
Tommy continued, “We are keen to develop not only the Skills Centre, but the variety of provision and facilities to meet any local demand. Although construction skills are a significant part of the courses on offer, other programmes include Health & Safety Training and Testing, Personal Development Planning and Information Technology, all of which aim to prepare our students for the needs and expectations of the employment market.”
John Bergin, Employability Coordinator at East Renfrewshire Council added, “Having the Skills Centre in Barrhead is a tremendous asset to the residents of the area giving easy access to education and training right on their doorstep. We see the Skills Centre playing an increasingly important role in our efforts to secure sustainable employment opportunities for our customers”.
For more information about the courses available at Barrhead Skills Centre, please contact Reid Kerr College Student Services on 0800 052 7343.
