800 young people find jobs - an ongoing success story
4 May 2011 11:33am
In November 2009 the NAC Group opened its first Green Collar Training Centre at the Nissan plant in Sunderland. This was followed, eight months later, by a further training centre at Walker on Tyneside, developed in partnership with Nissan and Building Futures East.
Young unemployed people have been put through a specially developed training course, designed to equip them for work in a modern manufacturing environment. And, the great news is that 800 of them have already found employment.
Many of the young men and women concerned have experienced long periods of unemployment and lack formal qualifications. The training teaches them basic manufacturing techniques and principles, as well as providing an understanding of sustainability and its impact on the workplace. Trainees gain a nationally recognised Level 2 qualification titled ‘Preparation for Employment in Manufacturing Industry’.
As Steve Pallas, Training & Development Manager at Nissan says: “It teaches young people not just how to do the work, but how to think about it too. The training prepares them for Nissan’s selection process and greatly improves their chance of success. It helps the company to achieve a stable and trained workforce and this, in turn, boosts our productivity”
This model training programme is transferable to different sectors and communities. It can have a beneficial impact on the community by preparing local people for local jobs, reducing unemployment, and meeting the needs of employers.
Paul Robson, MD of the NAC Group, sums up the success of the project in this way: “Unemployment is one of the big national challenges of our times. We need to be very creative in opening up employment opportunities for young people in modern manufacturing industry, and especially in the new low carbon sectors. This training programme has shown that we can innovate and respond quickly to meet the needs of employers.”
When describing the NAC Group’s future plans, Paul said: “We are keen to expand the programme across the UK, and we see its potential in making a major contribution to the Government’s new Work Programme. We would like to talk to potential delivery partners, and they are encouraged to contact us.”
A short video has been produced to capture the essence of this project :
[pre_employment_video]