Balfour Beatty has hired 23 local people to help build the new seawalls at Anchorsholme and Rossall.

The £86 million Rossall and Anchorsholme coastal defence scheme is being delivered by the Fylde Peninsula Coastal Programme, a partnership between Blackpool Council, Wyre Council and the Environment Agency, with work carried out by Balfour Beatty.

Working closely with Build Up, a training and employment programme from Blackpool and the Fylde College, Balfour Beatty is providing local people with valuable guidance and work experience. Targeting unemployed residents from Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, Build Up aims to provide the skills and training for a future career in the construction industry.

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Once on site, Balfour Beatty ensures the people required on the Rossall and Anchorsholme schemes have all the necessary skills, providing eight weeks of training as general construction operatives, with the opportunity to obtain a CSCS card and a certificate in Manual Handling. Practical skills in concreting, block paving, flagging, brickwork and drainage are also taught and developed.

As part of the scheme, Balfour Beatty is also providing opportunities for further training, with one individual already given a permanent position and now completing a Level 3 NVQ in business administration.

As the project progresses, any additional vacancies will also be advertised through Build Up or local job centres.

Lorraine Hannon, who is employed as an office administrator under the scheme, also lives in one of the 4,500 properties that will benefit from the improved flood defences. Lorraine said: "The job's wonderful. I love the fact that I’m going to work doing something that directly protects my home. The team has been really helpful and good to work with."

Works on Anchorsholme will complete in autumn 2015, with works on Rossall continuing to summer 2017.

(CD/MH)