Jerkins Osagiede
After working as a labourer on construction sites on a casual basis, and also having experience using concrete breaking tools on the London Underground, Jerkins wanted to get permanent work and avoid periods of unemployment in between jobs.
While he had already secured his Construction Skills Competency Scheme card and had done health and safety courses, he decided to focus on building up his practical skills so he would be better suited to a wider range of construction jobs.
'I spoke to my local job centre to see if they could help me get into some training courses, which can be very expensive. They called me a short time later and told me I had a place on the forward tipping dumper course at the plant training centre. I was very pleased.
'This course is good as we are learning and practicing the exact skills we would be doing on a site. I’m hoping that this will give me a better chance of getting another job, as my agency said that there were some jobs coming up for people who can drive dumper trucks.'