The region’s biggest co-located construction trade and careers event, Foundations Live, returned to Bishop Burton College on Thursday 21^st September after a successful launch in 2016.

Hobson & Porter created the Foundations programme to address the skills gap in the industry and help to build a sustainable workforce in our region. Foundations Live – a collaboration between construction firm Hobson & Porter, Jewson and Bishop Burton College – brings that concept into a live event space.

Demand from exhibitors saw the event move from Bishop Burton College’s Technology and Skills Centre, last year’s venue, to the much larger equine arena. Over 50 trades were organised in the sequence of a typical construction project, from architects through to suppliers of paint and landscaping services. More than 500 students visited from schools and colleges across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, from primary school pupils to adult re-trainers.

This year, Hobson & Porter was proud to be partnered by CITB (the Construction Industry Training Board), whose involvement gave both students and employers vital guidance and information on the wealth of career opportunities available in the construction industry, as well as the potential funding options. A number of other training providers, ranging from Humber Training to HABS (Humber Apprenticeship Brokerage Service), also had stands in the arena, completing the careers picture in our region.

Local primary school pupils, whose visit was organised through Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University, took part in a bricklaying taster course and enjoyed a visit to the extensive animal welfare facilities at Bishop Burton College – another great advantage of the venue. At the end of the exhibition, students received a free goody bag containing give-aways from the various exhibitors.

All exhibitors had the opportunity to break away from the arena and go upstairs for refreshments, with apprenticeship surgeries being held by CITB regularly throughout the day.

Positive messages were posted on social media throughout the day and afterwards by many different participants:

• HEY Children’s Uni‏: Having a great day at @BishopBurton @hobsonporter #FoundationsLive Lots of learning for children and networking opportunities for us!
• Rooted in Hull:‏ #foundationlive2017 @rootedinhull @hobsonporter Exciting times!
• Bishop Burton: It’s wonderful to welcome students from across the region to @BishopBurtonEquineArena for @hobsonporter #FoundationsLive today! It was a fantastic event, thank you!
• Pittaway Painting & Decorators: Great event to get the next generation interested in construction. Well done Hobson & Porter.
• Ings Primary: Big thanks to @ChildrensUni for organising this trip for us @BishopBurtonEquineArena
• Sirius Academy: A great event, brilliantly organised. The Year 10 students from Sirius North and West thoroughly enjoyed it and got a great deal of useful careers information.
• Selby College: Brilliant time yesterday, good to see you H&P again, hope to get something going at Selby College next March if possible. Regards, Phil.

Bransholme Fire Station, Hobson & Porter’s third project for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service in the last two years, was completed this summer. The Minor Works team began the process of upgrading the station’s internal facilities in November 2016, with a refurbishment contract including fitting a new boiler room, gymnasium, welfare pods, appliance bay, dormitories and shower facilities, and refurbishing the existing kitchen.

The main challenge for the Hobson & Porter team was to keep the station running smoothly while all work was done. This included keeping everything immaculate throughout – a way of working which is familiar to Hobson & Porter, as one of only just over 60 companies in the UK with membership of the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS). In fact, a CCS audit gave Hobson & Porter a total mark of 38/50, with 8/10 scored for ‘Appearance’ and ‘Respect the Community’.

Through Hobson & Porter’s existing relationship with Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, the site team, under the direction of Project Manager Paul McKenzie, was able to suggest a number of further improvements to the station to make the day-to-day experience of firefighters even better. These included:

• transforming the upstairs area, which has a brand-new kitchen, meeting room, TV area and IT space;
• installing air conditioning in the gymnasium, and lowering the ceiling to make the maintenance and upgrading of mechanical and electrical assets easier; and
• installing over 30 new doors throughout the inside of the station, rather than the 10 originally scoped. Key fobs were issued to all fire staff to enable access through all doors, enhancing security.

The station was handed over on 20^th July 2017.

During the summer of 2017, Hobson & Porter handed over a major project to extend and refurbish Priory Primary School and improve Priory Children’s Centre for Hull City Council. It represents one of 14 schools worked on this year by Hobson & Porter, with each being complete in time for the 2017/18 academic year.

At Priory Primary School, Hobson & Porter created a refurbished junior building to accommodate a greater intake of pupils. Infants now occupy the existing school building, which was previously for both juniors and infants. Works included re-roofing and rendering a substantial part of the building, creating a new entrance and enclosed playground to the front of the school, plus a host of interior construction and refurbishment works to create new classrooms, toilets and cloakrooms to both levels, a new canteen as well as a linking corridor between the canteen and the school.

In the adjoining children’s centre, Hobson & Porter created a remodelled entrance and provided new meeting rooms to both floors, new toilets for staff and children, new kitchens, a new lift shaft and new décor throughout. Outside, at the back of the children’s centre, the play area was landscaped and fenced.

Hobson & Porter also widened the service road leading to the school and children’s centre, and created a car park using a permeable reinforced surface, allowing grass to grow and drainage to occur naturally through the soil. This is both environmentally-friendly and aesthetically preferable to a standard concrete surface.

From the outset, this project was characterised by strict time pressures. As a result, the team at Hobson & Porter (and all sub-contractors) worked flat out, including extra weekends and evenings, to ensure the successful handover of all work by 14^th July 2017 – within a year of the commencement of early works. At the peak of the project – just before Christmas 2016 – between 60 and 80 people were working on site. 

Foundations Live is Yorkshire and Humberside’s biggest co-located construction trade and careers event. The result of a collaboration between Hobson & Porter, Jewson and Bishop Burton College, the first event in 2016 was a great success and saw pupils of all ages, including career changers, introduced to the wealth of career and training options available within construction. Foundations Live 2017 is set to build on the success.

On September 21^st, Foundations Live 2017 moves to the equine arena at Bishop Burton College. Hundreds of industry practitioners will be present, representing the full life cycle of a construction project, from architecture, to landscaping, covering everything in between, including surveying and estimating, brickwork and plaster, scaffolding, screed and sprinkler systems – to name a few.

Organised groups of students will typically spend 2-2.5 hours on site, with groups arriving throughout the day. They will be inducted to the event and provided with a high-vis vest to identify them from trade delegates. During their visit they will complete an activity pack which, at the end of their visit, will be exchanged for a goody bag.

There will also be a high number of trade delegates and visitors present, keen to network and find out about the latest products and innovations. Mid-morning snacks and refreshments and lunches will be served in the upstairs area, away from the main arena.

The event, which is free to attend and free to exhibit, encapsulates the aims of Hobson & Porter’s Foundations programme, which are to create a sustainable workforce for the construction industry – educating, developing and upskilling the next generation in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

There’s still time to arrange your FREE exhibition space at this year’s event. Please register your interest at https://www.hobsonporter.com/foundations/

Hobson & Porter was delighted to receive a runner’s-up trophy in the Ivor Goodsite Hoarding Competition, a national initiative from the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

The site team at Woodford Leisure Centre received the trophy in recognition of the artwork from three local schools displayed on the hoarding around the site. Pupils from St. Anne’s Community Special School in Welton, and Estcourt Primary Academy and Mersey Primary Academy, both in Hull, produced artwork which is currently on display around the site perimeter on Holderness Road.

Hobson & Porter is approximately halfway through a major project to extend and improve facilities at Woodford – one of Hull’s largest local authority recreational centres. From the beginning, Project Manager Kevin Harrison and his site team have engaged with the local community, in particular with education providers, hosting numerous visits from school and college students. As a result, the three participating schools produced a fabulous array of artwork on the theme of healthy living and health and safety.

Kevin said: “The children from all three schools showed real keenness to learn about the work we are doing at Woodford and the importance of site safety in the construction industry. It was great to see their eagerness to understand more about the work at Woodford, and their artwork was wonderfully thoughtful and creative.

“It is clear that they put a lot of effort into their work and they have been rewarded by having their designs named the second-best site hoarding in the country. Congratulations to them all!”

Winners of the Ivor Goodsite competition receive a range of prizes, including personalised t-shirts and other goodies. All pupils who enter also receive a medal and fun pack for taking part.

Dave Blades, Hobson & Porter’s Business Development Director, said: “The Ivor Goodsite Hoarding Competition is a brilliant initiative which helps construction companies educate children about site safety while also allowing them to be creative and learn more about the industry.

“It is also an early introduction the construction industry, and can inspire future generations to consider a career in construction. Congratulations to all the schools that worked with us on the Woodford Leisure Centre site hoarding, they can be very proud of their achievements.”

Summary:

• The Guild of Bricklayers Yorkshire heat took place at Hull College on Friday 16th June
• The competition was attended by colleges from across the region entering construction students into the senior and junior categories
• Hobson & Porter, Jewsons and Buck & Hickman have pledged support to the competition

Construction students from across the region have battled it out in an intense one-day competition to test their bricklaying skills against the clock.

The Yorkshire heat of the Guild of Bricklayers competition was held on June 16th at Hull College’s construction workshop. As part of the competition, students were presented with drawings and were given five and six-hour blocks to reproduce a live brickwork model.

The Guild of Bricklayers is an organisation which promotes and maintains the highest standards of craftsmanship in brickwork. The Yorkshire region competition has garnered support from a host of local and national businesses and organisations. Hull-based construction firm Hobson & Porter teamed up with national materials supplier Jewson and national tools supplier Buck & Hickman to provide branded t-shirts for competitors to wear during the event.

David Blades, Business Development Director for Hobson & Porter, said: “The Guild of Bricklayers competition is a great opportunity for young builders to showcase their bricklaying skills. The high standards of workmanship we saw at this year’s competition was very impressive, and a testament to the dedication of the students to their trade. This year’s competition builds on the positive reaction to last year’s event, which was hosted at Bishop Burton College.

“Hobson & Porter is a keen supporter of any initiatives that develop the skills of young construction students and the Guild of Bricklayers is one of the most prestigious events on the calendar. We are delighted to have been able to attend the regional event and team up with our friends at Buck & Hickman to provide the students with t-shirts for the competition. It was great to see some of the future tradespeople we are developing in our region.”

In the competition, students are judged on the quality of their brickwork by a panel of Guild appointed judges. Entrants for the senior category must be trainees who are working towards their S/NVQ Diploma level 3. Entrants for the junior category are students with little or no site experience who are working towards S/NVQ/Diploma level 1.

The senior category of the competition was won by York College’s Lewi Greenwood, with Goole College’s Joe Harrison and Leeds College’s Sean Durkin finish runner up and third place respectively.

In the junior category, Barnsley College’s Morgan Chambers took first place, followed by Timothy smith from Leeds College and Nathan Jamieson from York College in second and third place.

Winners from the regional heats progress into the national competition, which took place at Derby College on 21st June.

Summary:

• Rooted in Hull enterprise project continues to progress thanks to support from local businesses and organisations
• Work on café and shop containers taking place at Hull College
• The scheme, based on St Peter’s Street in Hull City Centre is aiming for completion late summer 2017

30 Hull businesses and organisations have partnered up to support a city farm project which aims to teach people in the area about food, farming and the environment.

Rooted, Hull’s “farm in a box” project taking place in the city centre, is aimed at creating a community space for the growing of fresh fruit and vegetables and rearing livestock to help local people learn more about food and nutrition, farming and distribution.

The next stage of the project has been taking place at Hull College’s construction workshop. It consists of two shipping containers, one which will act as a shop to sell fresh fruit, vegetables, salad and other local produce, and one which will become a café selling affordable, good quality health food products.

The concept has garnered support from several Hull and East Yorkshire-based companies and organisations, which have been involved in the development and fitting out of the farm’s containers, which will house food growing and processing facilities, conference space, and other on-site amenities.

Hull-based construction firm Hobson & Porter has helped with the formation of Rooted, establishing contacts for the project, and has partnered with national building supplier Jewson to provide materials for the building structures.

Other businesses involved include Bonus Electrical and Boston Renewables, which have pledged support through providing electrical fit outs of the containers, while CFI and Tarkett Ltd are providing materials for flooring. VIP Communications is providing internet access for the scheme, and Imperio Solutions are supplying LGP water heaters. Students from Hull College have also been involved in the joinery works, with Bishop Burton College in discussions about working on the project in the future. A host of other businesses are involved in the development of the scheme, which is targeting completion in late summer 2017.

Nick Wiles, Contracts Manager for CFI, said: “We have quite a few members in our team that come from a challenging background, so helping out with such an inspiring project to help the youth of this generation was a pleasure. Knowing that our efforts, both as a company and as a city collectively, is going to make a difference for a number of families across the city is the driving factor for our workers.”

Adrian Fisher, Co-director of Rooted, said: “We now have 30 Hull businesses who are supporting us in some way, and also Hull College’s students who have shown great commitment to the project.

“Rooted is based on innovative design and thinking and we are passionate about helping people to reach their potential. Our ultimate aim is to connect people back to their food and improve their health and wellbeing, while also encouraging enterprise to all elements of society.”

Hobson & Porter’s Business Development Director, David Blades, said: “We have been working closely with Jewson and other local businesses to help get this project off the ground and it’s great to see the stages coming together.

“There has been input from Hull College’s construction department, and this has given the students some excellent work experience towards their education in the industry.

“The project has benefits for all parties; it is great for the city and provides an opportunity for local businesses to get involved in a community initiative while working in unison with industry partners.

“Hobson & Porter is proud to support Rooted and will continue working with Adrian and the stakeholders throughout the scheme.”

Hobson & Porter is currently running the Foundations scheme, which involves initiatives run for people to gain valuable experience in the construction industry into bridge the skills gap and inspire more young people to start a career in construction. It has recently hosted several supplier exhibitions at Bishop Burton College to improve students’ knowledge of leading industry materials and suppliers.

For more information on Rooted visit rootedinhull.org.uk

For more information on Foundations visit https://www.hobsonporter.com/foundations/

Media Contact: For more information please contact Philip Loades on 01482 782287. E: philip.loades@mercury-group.co.uk