College Welcomes New Keepmoat Homes Apprenticeships Partnership

13th March 2018

The Sheffield College has welcomed a new partnership to create bespoke apprenticeship and training programmes and bring new talent into the construction and house building sectors.

tured: Andrew Hartley, Commercial Director, The Sheffield College The Collab Group of Colleges has been selected by Keepmoat Homes, a nationally recognised homebuilder, to manage its apprenticeship and training provision across the UK. This is the first partnership of its kind between Collab Group and a major housebuilding company. The Collab Group will act through The Sheffield College. Andrew Hartley, Commercial Director, The Sheffield College, said: -We welcome the opportunity to work with Keepmoat Homes and build skills for the future in the construction industry. The apprenticeship levy provides large employers with a great opportunity to invest in and mould new talent to meet their business and skills needs. James Thomson, Chief Executive, Keepmoat Homes, commented: "Through our exciting partnership with the Collab Group and The Sheffield College, we can offer training that is based around the skills required by employers in the construction industry." He added: "This will ensure students are equipped with all the knowledge and skills needed to take on fulfilling careers and will help to reduce the ever growing skills gap faced by the industry. We are committed to providing young people with new opportunities and quality experiences and through this attracting the best talent to work with us as we continue to grow our company. Ian Pretty, Chief Executive, Collab Group, said: "I am delighted that Collab Group, alongside our key member The Sheffield College, has formed a partnership with Keepmoat Homes to support their talent attraction and retention strategies. Keepmoat recognises the importance of investing in people; to identify emerging talent and shape the leaders of the future." He added: "Further education colleges will play a key role in helping the construction and housebuilding sectors address their wider workforce development needs and I am excited about the opportunities to work together. The partnership was announced at the Keepmoat Homes annual Trainee, Apprentice and Graduate Awards event attended by representatives from Collab Group and The Sheffield College. The event celebrated the achievements of new and emerging talent and highlighted the opportunities for further education colleges when working collaboratively to deliver high quality skills training that meets the needs of both employers and learners. Keepmoat is a fast growing top 10 housebuilder and the leading home builder for first time buyers, providing high quality, affordable homes throughout the UK. Visit https://www.keepmoat.com/. Collab Group is a forward-thinking membership organisation which represents leading colleges and college groups who collaborate, at a local and national level. Visit http://www.collabgroup.co.uk/. The College has a £321 million economic impact on the city annually, and works with around 850 employers delivering apprenticeship programmes in a wide range of industry sectors. Visit http://www.sheffcol.ac.uk/employers.