Building Futures: Scaffolding Careers Take Centre Stage at HMP Wormwood Scrubs
One of the most powerful ways to tackle the scaffolding sector's skills shortage is to look beyond the usual recruitment pipelines and open the door to people who might never have considered a career in the industry. That is exactly what NASC member Fourways Plant Limited has been doing and the results speak for themselves.
John Andrews and his team recently delivered a two-day programme at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, introducing participants to the world of scaffolding and the career opportunities available to them on release. The sessions combined practical, hands-on experience with an insight into the technology used on modern scaffolding sites, alongside honest and encouraging advice about how to progress into the industry.
The programme gave participants a genuine taste of what a career in scaffolding looks like; from the basics through to more complex bespoke structures. Using VR headsets to identify faults and erecting a scaffold for participants to inspect themselves, the sessions were designed to be engaging, informative and confidence-building. Every participant passed their inspection.
John Andrews from Fourways commented:
“We spent a great two days at Wormwood Scrubs getting to know Chloe and the guys and introducing them to scaffolding with help from Rebekah and Adam from NASC.
“The first day Rebekah and Adam took the reins to talk through pathways and training and how they can help once the guys are released. We talked through all aspects of scaffolding including health and safety and from basic to bespoke scaffolds, using examples from TG20-21.
“On day 2 we showed the guys drone footage of designed scaffolds we at Fourways had erected, we also showed videos of scaffold collapses (none of Fourways!) and the reasons why these could happen. The guys used the NASC VR headsets to fault find and we also erected a faulty scaffold and let them carry out an inspection which all of them passed with flying colours.
“We as an industry definitely have a skills deficit and it’s only going to get larger, so exploring new ways to fill this including visiting prisons is definitely the way forward; I believe this even more so after the great engagement we have had over the last 2 days.”
The feedback from both attendees and facilitators was extremely positive, and plans are already in place to build on this success, expanding the programme to reach even more participants and continuing to refine it based on the feedback received.
At NASC, we are proud to support initiatives like this one. The scaffolding and access sector has a real and growing skills gap and reaching people through new and creative routes is a vital part of addressing it. Programmes delivered in prisons offer a genuine pathway into employment for people who are motivated to make a fresh start, and the industry benefits enormously from the talent and commitment they bring.
If you are a NASC member interested in getting involved in similar careers outreach activity, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch at scaffoldingcareers@nasc.org.uk
