Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Enterprising DG service has started work on the refurbishment of the hair and beauty section of Dumfries and Galloway College, helping local businesses and supporting young people in the workplace.
In line with our Council being a more enterprising organisation, we tendered and were successful in gaining the contract for the works at the college.
As part of the work, our Council has enlisted the assistance of local businesses as sub-contractors on the large-scale job on the first floor of the college building. This demonstrates our Council’s commitment to providing best value with our contract bids, as well as showing how we can work with local businesses on larger projects.
In addition the council has directly enlisted the assistance of three pre-apprenticeship students. The students, who are studying at Dumfries and Galloway College will gain a wealth of real-life working experience of working within the construction industry.
Our Council and the College have a strong partnership, and offering up work experience opportunities to College apprentices is a strong indicator of our Council’s commitment to develop the talents of our young people.
Chairman of the Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Colin Smyth commented;
“Our Council’s number one priority is to build the local economy by not only creating jobs directly but also supporting local businesses. One of the main aims in establishing the Enterprising wing of the Council was to try to keep work within Dumfries and Galloway. It’s a very competitive market and often contracts go to firms from out with the region. However, if the Enterprising wing of the Council can secure contracts not only does it bring in badly needed income to protect services and jobs at a time when huge cuts are being made to Council’s budget, it can allow the Council to sub-contract parts of the work to local businesses.
In the case of the college work, the sub contractor also has their own electrical and building apprentices working on the project. In addition the council has directly enlisted the assistance of three pre-apprenticeship students who are studying at Dumfries and Galloway College. This links into our employment commitments in relation to supporting the region’s young people”.
The work is set to be complete by the first week in August, with new college students getting to grips with the refurbished facility when they start back for the 2016/17 academic year.
