A new initiative has been unveiled by Kingdom Housing Association (HA) to get young people interested in a career in construction.

The Construction Academy will launch as part of Kingdom's affordable house-building programme. So far, the HA has partnered with main contractors to support 22 apprenticeships and create nine work placements.

Lynne Dunn, coordinator of Kingdom's Fife Works, said: "Building on the previous successes of Kingdom and its contractors, we are pleased to announce that Fife Works will be running a Construction Academy to support the recruitment needs of existing and new affordable housing developments, in particular, the regeneration of Fraser Avenue in Inverkeithing.

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"A 4-6 week training course is planned for June 2017, where 12 unemployed Fife individuals will undertake a variety of accredited construction training courses including CSCS, Manual Handling, PASMA, Working at Heights and Asbestos Awareness followed by a work placement at one of Kingdom's affordable housing sites with Campion Homes."

Herd, construction director with Campion Homes, said: "We are very pleased to be participating in the planned Construction Academy that will take place later this year which aims to provide real employment opportunities for local people, as part of the East Inverkeithing regeneration project."

Bill Banks, Kingdom Group's chief executive, added: “New development projects provide opportunities to create community benefits as well as providing good quality affordable housing. The Construction Academy is an example of how we have been able to provide added value in terms of education, skills development and training, as part of our commitment to build strong communities."

(LM)