4:00pm Monday 22nd March 2010
CRAYLANDS residents are being recruited to help carry out the £250million estate revamp.
An aspiring builder, electrician, and engineer, who all live there, have already been taken on as apprentices.
Swan housing boss Jon Hayden revealed the firm was keen to take on even more locals.
The recruitment drive was revealed during yesterday’s site visit by John Healey, the Government Housing Minister.
Mr Healey met two of the apprentices – Adam Mace, 24, who will join the team as a carpenter and joiner, and Martin Thompson, 31, an onsite project manager.
Mr Thompson, who is British-born, but studied engineering in Nigeria, said he struggled to find a job after coming home three years ago.
He said: “I was unemployed for two years and beginning to lose hope. Then I saw all the activity in Craylands and the project manager told me about the apprentice scheme, so I applied.
“It’s a really good scheme. The workers are very professional and I’m learning a lot. The development is going to be very good for the estate.”
The revamp is expected to take ten years. About 900 homes will be demolished and replaced with 1,400 new ones.
Mr Healey said: “Meeting people like Adam and Martin is great. They are real success stories and they make my job worthwhile.
“A huge number of homes are being built here despite the recession and these apprenticeships have been created.”
The recruitment success is not the first time local people power has won through.
Two weeks ago, the Echo revealed how the project’s architects had redesigned home plans after agreeing to make them less drab, following consultation with residents.
Jon Hayden, head of regeneration at Swan, told Mr Healey residents’ viewswere key to the project.
He said: “People living here are involved and helping build the development for their future.
“It’s a ten-year building programme. We just couldn’t sustain it without having most of the residents on board.”
He also revealed plans to increase the number of apprentices and introduce free carpentry and joinery workshops in the summer and a tool library, so budding builders can borrow equipment and improve their skills.
Last November, the Echo revealed the whole estate will be renamed Beechwood Village once it is rebuilt.
Swan is running the apprenticeship programme with Higgins, the contractors for the redevelopment.
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