We visited ERT just before Autumn half term with school representatives to see how the students were doing and below is a report from that visit:

Throughout this academic year a group of 10 Westbourne students are attending Eastern Region Training (Baylham) one day a week to study a BTEC L2 course in Construction and the Built Environment.

This opportunity has been provided through to a collaborative project between The North West Ipswich Big Local Trust, Westbourne Academy and Eastern Region Training.

So far the students have built their own frames, installed flooring, fixed stud walls in place and put on the first coat of paint.

Included in each session are theory lessons based on each aspect of construction which will eventually form part of their final grade. The other aspect considers the quality and finish of their final built project.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING WESTBOURNE ACADEMY

A proposal for Vocational Training for local high school students who live in the BLT ‘Pink Area’ was approved by the Partnership for inclusion in our new BIG LOCAL PLAN.

In September 2021 we commissioned Eastern Regional Training (ERT) to provide this training for 10 students at Westbourne Academy

Our interest in pursuing this form of training, which is not a part of the general school curriculum, comes from the view many of us have that post COVID 19 many people will struggle to find gainful employment without vocational skills some of which are currently in high demand, especially in the building industry. The Government have many training courses for adults but this occupational training will give some of our local high school young people a head start in the jobs market having been trained to BTEC level whilst still at school in the highly sought after skills of bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, roofing etc,

A recent press report from the building federation commented that many thousand extra building workers will be needed in the East of England to satisfy demand.