A CONSTRUCTION company is creating 150 apprenticeships.

Esh Group, in Durham City, will take on workers over the next three years in its Esh Academy.

It plans to take on about 50 apprentices this summer.

Bosses say jobs will include construction roles, finance and administration positions, and surveying and engineering posts.

The firm last year supported more than 6,000 schoolchildren in a training scheme, and says the academy will cover the North-East, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Scotland.

The academy will be managed by Esh Training Solutions, Esh Group’s training division.

Brian Manning, Esh Group chief executive, said: “We are looking to add real bite by offering traineeships and jobs to some of the youngsters who successfully come through our employability programmes, which we deliver with business partners.

“We believe the offer of jobs is a massive incentive for students and really highlights the importance of preparing themselves for employment.

“We hope our business partners will join forces with us and take on board this approach and that we will be able to extend the opportunity to the work we have done with ex-offenders and social enterprises.”

The company, which directly employs nearly 1,000 people, has offices in Durham, Cramlington, Leeds and Kendal, and Mr Manning said its existing and future workforce will be involved with, and benefit from, the academy.

He added: “We’re looking to expand our graduate training and traineeship programmes and want to introduce potential leaders and senior leadership programmes as well as up-skilling our existing workforce.

“We already do a great deal of workforce development, and we’re now looking to run this work alongside.

“Once we get this operational then we can, as we always do, look to keep raising the bar and pushing it out.”

Tricia Mullen, Esh Training Solutions’ manager, said it was important the firm worked with colleges, training organisations and Esh’s companies to assess recruitment needs.

She added: “The academy students will be part of the Esh Group family.

“They can be school students, university students, in part-time or full-time work, and may be at a range of different academic stages.

“There’s a selection process, which will vary depending on the academic stage.

“School students can start by being taken into the academy talent pool and then progress to traineeships, training contracts and employment.

“We have a huge variety of opportunities available, from construction to finance, with site work ranges from pipe layers to engineering.”

Earlier this year, Esh, which is also holding North-East recruitment events to increase its workforce, completed a deal for Cumbrian firm Border Construction to continue its expansion.