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TV star’s training centre gets support from LSC

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is supporting TV star Craig Phillips's new construction training centre in Aintree with funding to help address Liverpool's construction skills gap.

More than 8,000 extra construction workers are needed in Liverpool to complete vital building work before 2008, when the city will host the European Capital of Culture, according to a report by CITB-Construction Skills, the industry's Sector Skills Council.

The LSC funding will pay for facilities at the centre and provide tools for up to 180 students. The construction college will offer NVQs and will have a staff of up to 14 teachers.

Craig, 33, who originally rose to fame when he won the first series of Big Brother in 2000 and has since worked as a TV handyman on ITV, said he will spend five days a week at his construction college when it opens next month. He and his business partners Mike and Elaine Hindley have invested £500,000 in the centre at Barclays Business Park.

Elaine Bowker, Executive Director of the LSC Greater Merseyside, said: "By working with Craig we can bring real value to Merseyside. We will fund training to help people gain the right skills for employment and Craig will use his links with employers to place the new recruits, helping to fill skills gaps. It's fantastic to have Craig's support, as he understands the business and has the confidence of employers."

On a national level, the LSC says that construction suffers from the second worst skills shortages of any industry, with almost 43 per cent of total job vacancies remaining unfilled because of a lack of skilled candidates.

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