Skills People Group Blog

We’ve all had trials and tribulations in life, though it appears some more than others. Our second NSA case study, Callum Smith, had been one of those unfortunate people until starting at Nottingham Skills Academy towards the end of last year... Callum, who is 26, said that he’s done a little bit of everything during his working life. At the age of 16, and a short time after his dad had walked out, his mum told him to sling his hook, so he began cold calling for £90 per week, which he said: “Gave me confidence”. However, Callum eventually ended up going to college, which he said: “felt forced”, as he admits that’s he’s never been good at one thing. “I’ve always had my fingers in so many different pies and didn’t want to commit to anything” he told us. Callum said that he never took life to serious, but about four years ago he found himself homeless. With his last £20 he got his friend to take him to YMCA Greater Nottingham (Worksop), as there were no rooms available at Nottingha...

We sat down  at Nottingham Skills Academy  with one of the current learners, Darren Cotterill, who started his journey at the construction skills training facility at the start of December 2022. Darren, who’s already a self-employed painter and decorator, lacked the papers he needed to endorse his natural skills and capabilities. He’d worked on the railway and roads for years, and after Covid-19 decided to “go back into the big wide world” to forge a new career. Darren initially worked for a private company based in Stockport, where got the bug for painting and decorating, and started doing bits and bobs for his family back home in Nottingham. In a self-employed capacity, Darren then worked successfully on some student accommodation, but was laid off his most recent contract 3 weeks before Christmas. He found out about NSA from his work coach, and spoke to Laura Hoddinott, NSA’s Sales and Engagement Coach, who explained all about the Introduction to Construction course, where ...

Everybody in life deserves a second chance. Right? At the Skills People Group, we believe that they do, which is why we also deliver our construction courses to ex-offenders throughout the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Offenders often leave prison with underlying support needs. The period of transition from imprisonment back into the community can often prove exceptionally challenging, particularly for individuals lacking the right support to find employment or somewhere to live. Meaning that ex-offenders can find themselves homeless, or even back in prison.  We are determined to improve ex-offender employment prospects to help employment rates rise and reoffending rates fall. Our Introduction to Construction courses and Skills Bootcamps in construction ‘trades’ are designed to give ex-offenders the tools to increase their confidence levels, develop as a person, and succeed in a career after prison.  Not only do we offer skills training programmes and interview opportunit...