Skills Support for the Workforce

Roseville Contracts

Roseville Contracts are dry lining, screeding and plastering specialists that have operated in the Black Country since 2012. Roseville have gone from strength to strength, building on their workforce and continuing to deliver bigger and better projects for their various clients.

Roseville required a number of existing and new workers to be upskilled so they could carry out work in different aspects of the business. A huge portion of their total workforce needed to be upskilled and gain formally recognised qualifications to carry out the work required of them, so it was essential for Roseville to access funded training to make it possible. 

How SSW helped

The Challenge

Workers were limited to a few specific skills, which was making it increasingly difficult to acquire new contracts and finding potential employees with the skills required by the business was a challenge. This was limiting the company’s ability to work on certain larger-scale projects, as many firms demand that all workers have the necessary CSCS Blue Card for their discipline. Failing to win contracts would have resulted in huge financial repercussions for the company and may have required them to streamline their workforce.

Ensuring the thorough training of their staff was also a particular concern for Roseville due to the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19. The unpredictability of workplaces in 2020 means businesses have to be more agile and adaptable than ever before.

Roseville also recognised training and upskilling is a fantastic way to ensure staff feel valued at work, resulting in increased morale, productivity, and staff retention for the business.

The Training

Roseville was able to access the training required through the Skills Support for the Workforce programme (SSW) which is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency. This funding was vital for Roseville to continue their rapid growth through the upskilling of current staff.

Essential Site Skills (ESS), one of Serco’s network of expert training providers chosen to deliver the SSW programme, met with Roseville and conducted a thorough training needs analysis to identify which courses and NVQs would best suit the company’s workforce and long-term goals.

ESS identified a number of learners who would benefit from training and these learners were enrolled on a range of NVQ qualifications including:

  • Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Interior Systems (Construction) - Ceiling Fixing
  • Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Interior Systems (Construction) - Dry Lining Fixing,
  • Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Decorative Finishing and Industrial Painting Occupations (Construction) – Painter
  • Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Specialist Concrete Occupations (Construction) - In Situ Flooring
  • Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Plastering (Construction) - Solid – Basic

The training and qualifications the learners undertook were tailored specifically to suit the needs of each employee, their role and career ambitions. This meant that workers always felt involved in the process and meant they could take ownership of their qualification and get the most out of the experience.

The Outcome

So far 20 learners have completed their qualifications and now have the opportunity to undertake work in new areas within the business. A further 12 employees are currently still undergoing training.

The collaboration between ESS and Roseville has been an undoubted success. The number of workers who successfully acquired their qualification is a testament to how much they have committed to training and valued the process as a whole. This puts Roseville in a fantastic position to continue increasing the skill base of their workers and bid for more lucrative contracts.

Health and Safety Manager, Billy Harris, was delighted with the impact training had on the business as a whole, and praised ESS for making the process simple and straightforward:

“From initial sign up, to the assessor signing off on the learner’s completion, the whole process was very fluid. The communication we had with the training team throughout ensured that all our workers knew exactly what was needed from them. This made the whole process of training so much easier. A lot of the workers are put off by the idea of training as they assume it will be all classroom-based. ESS made it clear how the training would benefit their actual jobs. I couldn’t be happier with how our training with ESS has gone.”

The training they have managed to acquire has given them the ability to continue growing the company. Whereas many businesses have seen less work over the last year, Roseville Contracts have managed to keep their work levels stable. This is in no small part down to having fully trained and motivated staff who feel valued and motivated in the workplace.