Hercules Site Services PLC (AIM:HERC), the labour-supply company to the UK infrastructure and construction sectors, officially opened the Hercules Construction Academy on Wednesday.
The academy, situated in the market town of Nuneaton, West Midlands, plans to train up to 400 new entrants in its first year before going on to upskill and educate thousands of workers over the coming years.
From the get-go, the academy will employ eight members of staff and provide a range of courses, with qualifications including health and safety courses, National Vocational Qualifications, T-levels and degree-level apprenticeships.
Specialist courses in utility detection, working at height, overhead powerline awareness, highways and other bespoke industry courses will also be on offer.
The qualifications will be accredited by The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the industry training board for the UK construction industry, as well as the National Open College Network and the Energy & Utility Skills Register.
As part of its Construction Skills Network report, the CITB forecast that an additional 225,000 workers will be needed by the industry by 2027 to meet demand.
The academy will help address this skills shortage and ultimately benefit major infrastructure and construction projects across the UK, including the likes of HS2, the planned AMP8 water sector infrastructure works, Highways England projects and proposed mega-projects like the Lower Thames Crossing as well as renewable energy and nuclear energy infrastructure.
The Hercules Construction Academy is located next to Birmingham and Coventry, where some of the region's major infrastructure and construction projects, including HS2, are situated, giving Hercules a base in the heart of the middle of the UK.
"This landmark launch represents an incredibly exciting time for Hercules and the wider industry," said Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive of Hercules Site Services. “We recognise the rapidly changing training and skills landscape and we believe we can deliver the very best in construction training throughout the UK.”
Korkmaz explained that attendees will learn from lecturers with extensive hands-on and real-world experience of the industry, “whilst our location and connections throughout the sector mean learners will be extremely well placed to secure employment and others will return to their employers with enhanced skill sets”.
Robert Halfon, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, said it was “fantastic to see key employers like Hercules offering gold standard T-Levels, alongside high-quality apprenticeships, and other qualifications”.
"I'm also delighted it will expand access to more degree-level apprenticeship opportunities, allowing people of all backgrounds to earn while they learn without the student debt and climb the ladder of opportunity," he added.
Julie Venn Morton, HS2's Senior Legacy Manager for the West Midlands region, also commented on the academy’s opening: "We welcome the arrival of the Hercules Construction Academy, which will play an important role in upskilling local people ready for work in the construction sector.
"In the months ahead, construction of the two new HS2 stations and the network control centre will really start to take shape, creating hundreds more local job opportunities."