Homes group cannot find enough workers
Thursday 26th March 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
Not enough workers can be found in Wolverhampton to take on construction jobs on the city’s council properties, despite rising unemployment in the city.
Wolverhampton Homes says it is frustrated in its ambition to recruit skilled local workers, including builders, electricians and carpenters.
The organisation, in charge of the city’s council house stock, has plenty of work on offer over the next three years as part of its £388 million Decent Homes programme, but it is being forced to look further afield.
There has been a lack of applicants from within Wolverhampton.
Lesley Roberts, the group’s chief executive, said it “would be difficult” to keep to its target of more than 30 per cent of workers being from the city.
Under the Decent Homes programme more than 20,000 council homes are getting refurbishment work.
The majority of the workers who have found employment on the scheme come from outside the city boundaries.
Last week the numbers out of work in the UK soared past the two million mark – in Wolverhampton it was up 938 to 10,248, 7.1 per cent of the working population with only Sandwell faring worse in the Black Country.
At the moment, just below 30 per cent of all the workers involved with Decent Homes are from Wolverhampton.
Mrs Roberts said: “I am totally on board with the ambition of employing as many local workers as possible, but we have to be realistic. Our contractors need established workers.”
The comments have drawn criticism from some city councillors. Labour councillor Louise Miles, who represents Bilston East, said: “It’s very disconcerting, and worrying, to hear comments like this.”
Three contractors involved in the scheme, Bullock, Frank Haslam Milan and Thomas Vale, all take on 30 apprentices each year to work on Decent Homes.
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Exactly how much as Wolverhampton Homes invested in training builders, carpenters, and electricians in the past 10 years? you want skilled workers put your hand in your pockets and train them, dont expect others too foot the bill, or whinge like you are now when there is no skilled labour to hire, its because of organisations like yours we have to let so many ( and much needed I might add ) foreign labourers into the country, how about English jobs for English people.
Report abuse
Tipton Fox – Wolverhampton Homes have invested heavily in training across the region. And i know that all three contractors employ local people across the decent homes programme. perhaps you should read a little more in to the programme and what everyone does before making such a blanket comment?
Report abuse
Perhaps Wolverhampton Council should not have made all their direct works tradesman redundant over the years then they would not have this problem.
Report abuse
well the problem stands from labour stoping education when some one who leves schoo, trying to find a job and carnt becouse he has no qualifaction. so he thinks oh yeah i can go to college and try again oops he carnt becouse he couldnt afford a level 3 in eletrical and gas. and then you gotthe councill who wont even train there own people and then they hire out to bullock who then sub contracts out to other companys with the work force. OH WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCIL THERE ARE LOADS OF PEOPLE IN SHIFNAL WHO CAN WORK IN ALL THE TRAIDS.
Report abuse
Goodness me Lee H, spelling obviously isn’t your strong point. I don’t think I would like you to test the Gas & Electrical installation in my abode. Hurrah for education!
Report abuse
My husband is a self-employed roofer who’d love the work but whose business isn’t big enough to put in a tender. Who should he apply to as a subbie? There’s workers available but no information on how to apply or to whom.
Furthermore, the money wasted on scaffolding is scandalous. It goes up for the roofing work, gets taken down and then goes back up when the windows are replaced. Can’t this work be better co-ordinated?
Report abuse
i currently work for a company that has a contract for this work, the problem is council workers are on day rate so do as little as they possibly can where as most sub contractors are on price work so work very hard, there is not enough work for the workers that are working at the moment, also there are plenty of skilled workers but if they dont have the relevant papers to say so your stuffed!! get your hands in your pockets and help these skilled workers out not everyone are cowboys!
Report abuse
i went onto the job site looking for a job where are thay it sayes no vancancies thats good a it sayes in the paper they carnt fill them
Report abuse
Wolves Chick – how have Wolverhampton Homes invested in training??? you mean to those who are yes men???? there are people I know who work for Wolverhampton Homes who have and little or no training and those who have had to pay for their own!!!
And Tipton Fox – I wasnt aware that W-ton Homes employed what you call “Foreign labourers” -
Report abuse
HAVE WE NO PRIDE LEFT,THAT OUR ENGLISH WORKSHY SCROUNGERS WILL NOT APPLY FOR THE WORK ON OFFER. GIVE ME JOHNNY FOREIGNER ANYDAY TO GET THE JOB DONE FOR DEAR OLD BLIGHTY.
SHAME ON YOU WORKSHY SCROUNGERS.
Report abuse
lee h (4) – can the people in shifnal spell? suppose not as they never went to school to learn anything.
Report abuse
Load of bull about not enough locals applying for jobs to work on the decent homes projects. I have applied for a job at both Frank Haslam Milan and Thomas Vale over the last 2-3 months being sent a rejection letter from F.H.M. and no response from Vales, so where are these JOBS???????? I have now managedto find a job within the customer care dept of a mid size builder based in High Wycombe, I live in Walsall, that is how prepared I am to find work
Report abuse
I am a qualified carpenter who applied to both F.H.M. and T Vale to be rejected by FHM and to be ignored completly by T Vale. I have now secured work with a company based in High Wycombe as they were the only business that I could find work with, I live in Walsall. FHM are a complete waste of time as there head office is out of the region say no more
Report abuse
Where are these positions being advertised? I have searched job sites and the 3 contractors websites but have found no current vacancies. My son would jump at the opportunity of working for Wolverhampton Homes after being made redundant. Perhaps they have had a poor response because the people of Wolverhampton do not know about these opportunites.
Report abuse
2)”Wolverhampton Homes have invested heavily in training across the region.”
Really, I was not aware that have have actually trained any electricians, carpenters or brickies to a city and guild, or equivalent qualification, please enlighten me??? and even if they had, which I doubt, they obviously have not done enough or this article would not exist, would it?
8)”I wasnt aware that W-ton Homes employed what you call “Foreign labourers” ”
If you actually read what I said again, I said “organisations like yours” and if their is such shortage, do you not think these outside contractors will be forced to employ “foreign labour” ?? how else will the contracts get completed if there are no English people qualified enough to carry out the work, think about it.
Report abuse
english jobs for english workers,over sea workers will all be flooding to get these jobs,it’s spineless labour who have killed the british worker,so can the last brit leaving this looney left corrupt country please turn the light off but only if savosky the pole as fitted a new bulb.
Report abuse
Im not suprised they are struggling to find skilled workers,perhaps something to do that many people local to Wolverhampton can hardly read and write never mind advanced skills, give the jobs to people in areas that deserve them
Report abuse
17)please read the following piece,
I dont see what the proble is..we live in a free world, if Sir Richard Branson believes the company will strenghten through moving then good for him, we should encourage entreprenuers
Anyway as the Prime Minister says here are 500.000 jobs ot there so stop crying and get to the job centre.
“dont instead of don’t
proble instead of problem
strenghten instead of strengthen
entreprenuers instead of entrepreneurs”
you comments on The Virgin closing article 27/3
if what you say is true and the reason no training is given is because Wolverhampton people can not read or write, you are living proof that this would not be a barrier in Torquay, before you insult Black Country people, think on, stones in glass houses etc.
p.s. do they not have newspapers in Torquay?
Report abuse
How and where can i apply for a job i am a fully qualified carpenter and have vast experienc eon kitchen fitting, bedroom wardrobe fitting etc.
HELP!!!! I NEED WORK
Report abuse