Skills Support for the Workforce
With a constantly changing client-base and the challenge to keep prices competitive in light of rising raw material costs - Durman Stearn needs to have a highly skilled workforce that is capable of adapting ever-chaning client’s demand. To increase workforce capability and productivity, the business made use of funded skills training through Skills Support for the Workforce.
Founded in 1983, Durman Stearn (Civil Engineering) Ltd offers its client base a wide range of civil engineering and groundworks services on sites across the East of England.
Construction Skills People (CSP), a delivery partner of SSW, already delivered training for Durman Stearn and such were able to notify the company about the programme and their eligibility to receive funded staff skills training through SSW.
With a constantly changing client-base and the challenge to keep prices competitive in light of rising raw material costs; Durman Stearn need to have a highly skilled workforce that is capable of adapting ever-changing, individual client demands.
Durman Stearn’s management team understood that by making use of funded skills training through SSW, they could increase workforce capability and productivity to help the workforce to meet their client’s unique needs.
Management identified members of the team who would benefit from skills training and CSP helped them put together a Training Needs Analysis and action plan that allowed for the training to take place on-site and at times to minimise the impact of staff resourcing levels.
14 members of the team were enrolled onto the training programme, with 7 of these trained on the use of plant items including; Ride on Rollers, Forward Tipping Dumpers and Excavators; whilst 7 others received training on various forms of Construction Operations.
This training has allowed these staff members to increase their skills sets and make them more productive on site as they no longer have to wait for other skilled operatives to become available to carry on working - they are now trained to be able to do this work by themselves.
The training has enabled the company to demonstrate to their clients that they continue to invest in staff training as well as progress staff to a skilled level where they can gain/hold the Blue CSCS and Blue CPCS cards that is of value to their customer-base.
The staff who attended the training reported that overall it was a positive experience and this is reinforced by the fact that they are now progressing within the business - now capable of taking on additional duties to subsequently earn more.
Management and staff of Durman Stearn are keen to explore if there are more ways to make use of the Skills Support for the Workforce programme to further develop its workforce and progress through funded skills training.
