North-East Business
Former policeman’s firm helps train apprentices
12:30pm Friday 3rd September 2010
A FORMER top policeman was so impressed with the idea behind a struggling business that he bought it.
Three years on, Peter Walker, former deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire, has turned the idea into a successful company with a half million pound turnover.
He runs SuperSkills, a construction training company, from an 8,000sq ft facility at Thirsk Rural Business Centre.
Aimed primarily at training and placing young apprentices, it increasingly attracts experienced workers from all over the country who need formal qualifications.
Courses cover plastering, tiling, bricklaying, painting and decorating, and joinery for the trade and DIY.
It has also become the first in Yorkshire – and possibly the country – to offer courses in waste management and sustainability.
The courses all carry qualifications from recognised bodies such as the Construction Awards Alliance and City & Guilds.
The business employs 18 highly experienced full- and part-time trades people. Each is qualified to train and all are NVQ registered assessors.
SuperSkills opened in May 2007 and, apart from helping many apprentices, Mr Walker estimates to have helped more than 300 individuals start their own businesses.
He said: “We have trained many absolute beginners. Some have been in their twenties and thirties who have taken redundancy to go and do something else. We’ve had some fantastic examples.”
The business started by taking 14 to 16-year-olds on vocational courses from schools. Now, it also caters for the 16 to 18 and 19 to 24-year-old age groups.
In 2008, it received a contract from the Skills Funding Agency to deliver apprenticeships and governmentbacked Train To Gain courses which are designed to ensure recognised standards across the construction sector.
Every construction worker, whether self-employed or employed by a firm, has to hold an NVQ level two to work in their trade.
SuperSkills has developed an intensive two-day course which has attracted workers from Devon and Cornwall to Scotland.
Mr Walker said: “They are coming in droves because they can get it done in two days. We even come in on a Saturday, so they might only lose one day’s pay.”
They also recognise that many have years of experience behind them.
“If they are a 45-year-old bricklayer, they will have a huge amount of pride in themselves and what they do and we respect that,” said Mr Walker.
“This is why we have a fast-track system.”
The Coalition Government is giving strong support to apprenticeships. It has already announced plans to divert £150m from other savings to create a further 50,000 apprenticeships.
Construction work is also beginning to take off after grinding to a halt in the recession.
However, many firms are reluctant to offer two-year apprenticeships because of uncertainty over future workloads.
SuperSkills is now taking part in a new government-funded scheme in which they take on apprentices that firms can employ on short-term contracts.
Mr Walker said: “It provides the company with a cost-effective pool of labour which is undergoing training and provides the young people with the opportunity to gain their qualifications.”
Anyone interested in any of the apprenticeships or new courses should contact 0845-130-9098 or visit superskills.co.uk.