Sunderland College looks to develop links with local businesses at Construction Festival

Local employers can meet some of the best young talent coming into the construction industry at an exclusive Sunderland College networking event and one lucky business will also win a £2,000 powertool kit.

As part of the college's second Construction Festival it provides an opportunity for the college to showcase its Construction and Building Services courses and facilities at its state-of-the-art City Campus.

A key focus of the festival is to establish potential employment pathways for the city's youngsters.

Business representatives attending the event will get the chance to find out how they can benefit from hosting T Level placements or apprenticeships as well as how adult skills service training can help them develop and recruit their workforce. 

Sunderland College's Curriculum Manager for Construction, Michael Dodds, said: “We have a wide range of courses across the Education Partnership North East group (to which the college belongs), that will allow businesses to grow their employee’s skills and knowledge base.

"We want to talk to businesses about supporting our student industry placement scheme and help to shape their workforce of the future and also to showcase what opportunities will be available in the construction industry for full-time students and apprentices when they attend.   

“This event will be a fantastic opportunity for businesses to come along and find out how Sunderland College can be a part of their future."

Gentoo Group, Women into Construction, Equans, Carney Consultancy, and EPNE Training will be hosting masterclass seminars and there will be demonstrations from trade areas such as plumbing, carpentry and joinery, electrical, brick, motor vehicle, and engineering.

The event is being sponsored by Powertool World, one of the UK's largest tool distributors, who will be giving away an eight-piece cordless power tool kit worth £2,000 courtesy of DeWalt. 

Andrew Pickersgill, Managing Director of Powertool World said: “We are proud to be sponsoring the Sunderland College Construction Event 2024.

"We know how good the college is, especially within the construction and building services departments, at supporting students and local businesses.

 “As the number one destination for power tools online, we also know how important it is to have the right tools for the job, so to be able to give something back was important to us. 

“Working in partnership with Dewalt we’re happy to offer this cordless eight-piece power tool kit as a prize for one lucky entrant. All eight tools have brushless motors, for excellent power and efficiency, providing the winner with a perfect solution for every situation.”

The festival will take place between 9am and 1pm on Wednesday January 17.  

Companies attending the event will get the chance to find out about how they can offer apprenticeship and work placement places and the funding available to them.

Any business which would like to register to attend the event and be in with a chance of winning the powertool kit can do so via the college's website.