Firm’s investment in training does pay off

Sep 26 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A BUILDING company is ensuring its future growth by investing thousands of pounds in training budding construction staff in the North East .

Morgan Ashurst saw its profits almost double earlier this year to £4.1m with the help of a number of North East projects including the £11m development of an environmentally-friendly sports and social centre at the University of Sunderland and a £6.4m extension at Stockton Riverside College.

The company, which opened its Durham office last year, has more than 2,000 staff nationwide and is growing numbers in the North East.

The firm is now putting cash into four of its training programmes to help support this influx of contracts, with youngsters given the experience of working on live building sites.

Among the students involved are Miles Morgan and Alex Martin, both 20, and James Garnett, 21, who are spending placement years with the firm as part of their degree courses at Northumbria University. While Miles, from Gateshead, and James, from Newcastle, work as assistant site managers at a £16m development at Bede College in Durham, Alex, from Newcastle, is helping with the £4.7m development of Peterlee Eden Community Primary School and the £2m Aviation Academy for Newcastle College.

Miles said: “I have learned so much since joining Morgan Ashurst. The theory work at university really slots into place when you can see it put into practice on a live set. What I value the most is the enthusiasm of staff and the way the company gets the best out of people.”

Morgan Ashurst is among a number of companies in the North East that has invested in training schemes as a way of reducing the skills gap in the construction sector.

Owen Pugh, based near Cramlington, Northumberland, recently set up Owen Pugh Training Services to offer around 100 courses a year to youngsters in the region.