A Warwickshire based building contractor, has been honoured in the 2010 regional constructing excellence awards for a project that demonstrates its dedication to training and development.

Stepnell Ltd was the winner in the Integration and Collaborative Working category of the 2010 Constructing Excellence Awards,  part of the Celebrating Construction event which is organised by West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE) in conjunction with Birmingham City Council, and the Chartered Institute of Building.

With the support of WMCCE, Stepnell has worked with the Learning and Skills Council to pioneer Local Skills Academies in the region. The skills academies have two key aims. Firstly they provide pupils studying key stage 4 construction courses with the opportunity to visit live construction sites.
Secondly, they provide a gateway for training to local supply chain companies, providing essential skills training, improved efficiency and building quality.
The scheme, which is unique to the West Midlands, provides students with an invaluable insight into the way a construction project is managed and the wide variety of skills needed in the construction sector. This not only helps develop interest, with hand on experience, but links into the school’s curricula activity at Key Stage 4.
Approximately 600 work experience days have been provided to date and 80 pupils have participated in the scheme.

Building on the pathfinder local skills academy established by Stepnell at Minster College in Leominster, Herefordshire, WMCCE are now working closely with them to apply this unique approach in Staffordshire to make use of the building sites for a number of new fire stations throughout the county that Stepnell is currently working on.

Phil Wilson, Executive Director, WMCCE says,
'Stepnell has shown real forward thinking through its pioneering work to develop the skills academies concept and has demonstrated genuine commitment to the future of the industry in the region. The skills academy developed originally at Minster College was an excellent opportunity for young people to gain first hand experience of a construction site; furthermore it provided an effective mechanism for engaging the supply chain in training and business improvement initiatives. We look forward to working closely again with Stepnell and their supply chain in Staffordshire'

Mark Wakeford, Stepnell Managing Director says,
'We are very pleased to be involved in this initiative and are glad that it has been such a success. Pupils really seem to appreciate their time out of the classroom and we hope that it a useful experience, allowing them to put the theory into practice. We were delighted to hear that we had won the award for Integration and Collaborative Working. It is great to know that the time and effort put into the organisation of the academies is appreciated and that it is considered a success by those in the wider industry, as well as a contribution to the development of a national model. We hope that the academies continue to prove valuable for pupils and grow further in the future'.

The Constructing Excellence Awards formed part of Celebrating Construction 2010, an event which highlights all that is good within the region’s construction industry. A total of 78 applications were received for the awards, across six categories.

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