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Pre-Apprenticeships at City College

An exciting pre-employment and pre-education programme

What are Pre-Apprenticeships?

Pre-Apprenticeships and Pre-Employment courses at City College, coming under the banner of "First Footings", have been aimed primarily at 16-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training and adults who are long-term unemployed or who face barriers to employment. The courses are run at the Construction Skills Training Centre, based at City College Brighton and Hove, City College East campus.

The programme is designed to give these individuals a genuine taste of what its like to work in the construction industry. Instead of relying on class-based lessons, First Footings uses a practical approach to learning.

The Constructing Skills Centre

The Centre has its own replica building site. Every day the students will turn up in their hard-hat and work boots, dressed appropriately for work, and will go about learning in the best way possible - by actually having a go.

By simulating real on-site conditions, First Footings will give enthusiastic individuals the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of different aspects of construction, including carpentry and joinery, plumbing and brickwork.

The course also involves on-line learning and will cover Health and Safety and essential skills as well as specialised core construction skills. Every student should leave First Footings having obtained their CSCS Health and Safety Certificate, which is a requirement when applying for any category of CSCS card.

What next?

Interested students are initially invited to a "taster day", where they are given a clear indication of what to expect on the course and they can confirm their decision to enrol. On completion of the full-time ten-week course, the students will then get to put the skills they have learnt into practice on a workplace experience placement with a local employer and on project work which will enable students to work in teams.

As well as giving enthusiastic individuals the chance to see just what it takes to work in the construction industry, First Footings can help with deciding what course or Apprenticeship to apply for in the future.

First Footings is run as a rolling programme, with new starts every week. This means that there is no danger of missing the beginning of the course, as students will be able to arrange the start date that suits them best.

There's no doubt that this unique training centre will allow many more local people to take the first steps towards finding themselves the right career in the construction industry.