CONSTRUCTION companies in Bristol could pocket £1,000 by taking on a young person for work experience.

A new scheme, Pathway to Construction, has been set up to offer £1,000 to businesses that take on a first-year construction student for ten weeks of work experience.

Set up by the City of Bristol College, the Avon Construction Training Group, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and CITB-ConstructionSkills, the scheme aims to match ten full-time construction students from the college with local employers.

The students are currently in their first year of training in bricklaying, carpentry or painting and decorating courses.

Employers that participate will each receive £100 a week to help cover the costs of providing on-site experience. If placements are successful the employer will receive all the support necessary to take on their trainee as a fully employed apprentice.

The scheme provides the opportunity to test a person's suitability for employment so businesses can continue to invest with confidence in the skills that are vital to the construction industry.

Ron Willers, pictured, FMB South West regional director, said: "Our members, typically small and medium-sized local businesses, are telling us how tough things are for them, so taking on an apprentice at this time is out of reach for many of them.

"The need for training doesn't go away though.

"Pathway to Construction offers local construction businesses an opportunity to find out if a first-year student is suited to working for their company before making the commitment of taking them on as an apprentice."

Mike Coleman, head of construction at City of Bristol College, said: "Pathway to Construction gives young people the opportunity to gain valuable on-site experience and can potentially lead to a full-time apprenticeship, which is the first step on their path to a career in the construction industry."

For more information, call Vanessa Wilmut, at the Avon Construction Training Group on 0117 953 5367, or email Vanessa_actg@tiscali.co.uk.