Schools Contract Leads to Youth Employment Opportunities

28th May 2006

The Highland Council, along with Morrison Construction and Tulloch, have announced that the PPP2 Contract recently signed between the Council and Alpha Schools will lead to increased employment and training opportunities for young people across the Highlands. The agreement that has been concluded will see the two companies increase the number of apprentices and trainees in the construction industry.

Bruce Robertson, Director of Education Culture and Sport, said: " We are delighted that the two major construction companies involved in the PPP2 Contract see this as an opportunity to work with us and ensure that there is a legacy of increased employment and skills development opportunities as a consequence of the massive investment in the Schools Contract.

"This will allow young people to become involved in a range of training opportunities right across the spectrum and, as a consequence, be in a position to take advantage of the very buoyant construction industry market that will prevail in the Highlands in the years ahead. Not only will there be increased numbers of job opportunities but the companies will also be working with all 11 schools to make sure that there are direct curriculum links being made during the construction period."

Morrison Construction have already begun work on the PPP2 Programme at Dingwall Academy, Portree High School, and the new Gaelic Medium Primary School at Slackbuie, Inverness.

Donald McLachlan, Operations Director of Morrison Construction, said: "We are delighted to be working with The Highland Council on the PPP2 project, the biggest school building project undertaken in the Highlands, and we warmly welcome the opportunities that this huge workload offers to young Highland workers."

Tulloch will be working on new PPP2 primary schools at Cawdor, Culbokie and Resolis as well as Kinlochleven High. The company now has 200 apprentices.

Tulloch chairman David Sutherland said: "The Highland Council's emphasis on creating jobs is admirable. We employ 1,100 people but the range of our workload means that we prefer to use local skills wherever they match the required standards and we'll certainly carry that policy in to the PPP2 programme."

The schools being built in the second PPP programme are: -
Cawdor Primary; Culbokie Primary; Drummond School, Inverness; a new Gaelic Medium Primary, Inverness; a new primary school to serve Inshes, Inverness; Resolis Primary School; Kinlochleven High and Primary; Dingwall Academy, Millburn Academy, Inverness; and Portree High.

In the first Education PPP project, new primary schools were built at Spean Bridge and Strathdearn (Tomatin) and new secondary schools at Ardnamurchan (Strontian) and Glen Urquhart (Drumnadrochit).