Firm reflects on “responsibility to think about the future of the construction industry”
Yorkshire based Caddick Construction has shared its commitment to nurturing local talent and helping to address the UK wide agenda of a skills shortage ahead.
With a workforce consisting of 111 employees, the family run business, which has been operating for around 40 years, currently has 12 trainees working from the business’s HQ in Knottingley in a variety of roles including quantity surveying, project management, buying and design and build co-ordination.
There are also around four trainees working on a number of sites across the North of England. With high profile projects such as Vangarde Shopping Park, Headingley Stadium and Crosspoint33 under its belt, Caddick Construction takes the responsibility of recruiting, training and developing people very seriously.
Ian Plowman, operations director, said: “We have a responsibility to plan ahead and think about the future of the construction industry. We know and understand that there is a challenge in terms of a skills shortage, so I’m proud of the fact that Caddick Construction is committing time and resources to fill the gap in the industry.”
The business works in conjunction with Higher and Further Education institutions including Leeds College of Building and Leeds Beckett University to train up the next generation of the construction industry.
Leeds College of Building Principal Ian Billyard said: “We take great pride in the role we play in shaping the future of the region’s construction industry and we are extremely proud of our longstanding relationship with Caddick Construction.
“Our work with Caddick demonstrates our ability to work alongside leading construction companies, to deliver high quality and relevant training that continually forms the foundations of the long and successful careers that our students and apprentices enjoy.”
Leeds born and bred Joseph Flannery, who is 22 and a Leeds College of Building alumnus, joined Caddick Construction three years ago as an assistant quantity surveyor. His role is full time but he spends a number of days at Leeds Beckett University each semester.
Flannery said it was important to him to be able to be ‘on the job’, adding: “Working at Caddick has given me a great step in the right direction. I’ve learnt so much whilst building my confidence in being able to work independently. I may be at assistant level but I’m treated as one of the team and have key responsibilities, so I’m very accountable.”
Figures from The Construction Industry Training Board reveal that the construction industry needs to attract 35,740 new recruits each year until 2021, with particularly high demand for professional roles and wood occupations.
Nationally, the Caddick Group employs almost 500 people and its turnover is £90m.
