CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > May 2020 21 sat with us to conduct every single one of those 20 interviews. He helped us to make really good assessments of the people we interviewed and figure out whether they were ready to go through an intense training programme. “The RMF Construction Training Academy is a brilliant facility for plant training and if any challenges have come up, we’ve been able to approach these challenges together with RMF. Little things like travel arrangements and making sure the work placement is going to be ideal for the candidate concerned. Following the training programme, I’m very pleased to welcome our five new teammembers to Lynch Plant Hire,” he continued. So what does the future hold for RMF? The company’s stronghold is in the West Midlands but there are plans to open up another RMF Construction Training Academy in the London region within the next six months. A two acre piece of land has been secured and Dara is already starting to build up relationships with college providers and prisons in the area. The plan is to replicate the Birmingham facility on a smaller scale, but still delivering accredited training such as CPCS courses and specialising in training under-represented groups and helping secure employment for them. Currently RMF trains around six females a month but this figure is growing. One recent success story is a female trainee who following completion of a four week RMF training course, secured full-time employment on a HS2 site. Dara said: “We’re always looking for more companies to get involved. The whole service is free to clients and we can organise for interviews to take place on-site at the RMF Construction Training Academy. Our overall objective is to get more people into work and it’s a very happy, positive place. The general consensus is that our trainees see this as a way out of long-term unemployment, homelessness and getting out of the cycle of going in and out of prison. “We truly believe that everyone, regardless of their past, where they live, their age, gender or sexual orientation, should have access to high quality, safe and effective training services. The Fresh Start programme allows clients to create a proper legacy and not just complete a tick box exercise to meet KPIs. That legacy could be to break the cycle of say three generations of Grandad, Dad and Son going into prison. We can help break that cycle and help people kick start their career, get involved in major projects and give young people someone to look up to. “Re-offending by recent ex-prisoners costs the economy up to £13 billion per annum. The national average for offenders re-offending is around 50%, but with our trainees, that figure is reduced to around 5%. Gaining employment and housing is a major factor in reducing offending. Getting a job in construction is allowing people to see a future. People can set themselves realistic goals that keep them engaged and help them to work towards creating a better future for themselves and their family. “We’re now working with companies who we never dreamed of working with and we’re tremendously proud that trainees who were in prison just a couple of years ago are now Managers of some of the UK’s largest projects. That for us is one of the biggest legacies that a company can create,” he added. GATEWAY INTOCONSTRUCTION: 4