Construction
With opportunities on the horizon for major new energy, road, rail and housing projects, such as the £1.7bn York Potash Project, the £400m re-development of the motorway between Northumberland, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear and the construction of a £150m Biomass Power Station in the Tees Valley, Darlington is ideally placed to service growth across the whole of the northern region.
As an excellent location for construction sector industries, Darlington is already home to over 400 businesses contributing £110m GVA per annum into the local economy.
Major construction industry businesses already based in Darlington include Amec Foster Wheeler and Shepherd Construction, who secured the prestigious £82m contract to build Hitachi Rail Europe's Ltd new European manufacturing plant.
As well as a number of large scale employers the area is also home to a vibrant SME base feeding into the commercial, industrial and residential construction supply chains.
Construction businesses in Darlington provide innovation, creativity and solutions across the globe. For them the attraction is very clear - Darlington provides a cost competitive business location with access to a skilled labour market, a wide pool of talent on which to draw and excellent transport connectivity.
3,900
employed in the sector (2012 figures)
£94m
economic contribution by the sector in 2016
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Industry Training
The Construction Innovation Centre at Darlington College, opened in 2014. The £2m facility provides workshops for bricklaying, joinery, painting and decorating, plastering, plumbing and electrical installation work at Darlington. The centre complements a range of full time programmes for professional and technical skills in the Construction and the Built Environment, which can lead to university and on into careers as Civil Engineers or Architect's.
Durham Tees Valley Training Services (DTVTS) is a bespoke training centre offering a wide range of plant and management training services to the construction sector. Adjacent to Durham Tees Valley Airport, the centre is uniquely placed to support the off-shore industry as well as offer high quality plant operator training to the construction industry.
Knowledge, Expertise & Networks
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB - North East) role is to work with industry to encourage training which helps build a safe, professional and fully qualified workforce. Through support and funding provided to businesses the CITB helps improve skills, increase business competitiveness and respond to challenges, such as the low carbon agenda, reducing costs on site and recruiting the best talent for the sector.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) is the statutory organisation, national training provider and awarding body with responsibility for the training and development of the UK's engineering construction workforce. Acting on behalf of the industry, the ECITB works closely with Government and employers to attract, develop and qualify engineering construction personnel in hundreds of skills and disciplines.
Combat to Construction
The Combat to Construction Traineeship is a Persimmon Homes programme which enables service leavers to transfer their existing skills or gain a rewarding second career within the house building industry. Working in partnership with Darlington based Nordic Focus Training Group, the scheme gives learners the opportunity to work towards a NVQ Level 2 in Trowel Occupation (Bricklaying) or Wood Occupation (Joinery), giving them the opportunity to begin a career in an industry that is currently booming!