Willmott Dixon is set to employ nearly 100 apprentices from Birmingham after it was appointed by Birmingham City Council to carry out repairs and maintenance to 23,136 homes in Edgbaston, Selly Oak and Northfield over the next four years.

The contract is worth £37m per year and sees the company continue its long-term presence in the city, where it has been carrying out repairs to much of Birmingham’s housing stock since 2008. The new arrangement will see Willmott Dixon work across the south of the city to deliver a host of services to council-owned homes alongside responsive repairs and maintenance, with gas servicing, voids and capital improvement work programmes also included.

Read: Apprentices transforming their lives

As part of the company’s commitment to drive growth in the city, it also aims to employ 24 local apprentices per year, which is a continuation of its focus on local skills and job creation that has already seen nearly 80 apprentices employed in Birmingham since 2008. Willmott Dixon also became the first construction company in 2013 to make a multi-million pound investment in opening a dedicated academy in Birmingham, with the 4Life Academy in Perry Barr, Aston, currently training over 5,000 people a year in a host of job enhancing life skills.

It comes as Birmingham City Council unveiled contractors to repair and maintain its housing stock. The new four year contracts will see three contractors operate on a geographical basis to deal with all repairs, maintenance, gas servicing and home improvements.

These arrangements start from 1 April and see:

• tenants living in the north of the city supported by Keepmoat
• tenants living in west central and east Birmingham supported by Wates Living Space Maintenance
• tenants living in the south of the city supported by Willmott Dixon

Mick Williamson, managing director or Willmott Dixon Partnerships, the company’s repairs specialist:

“We are delighted our partnership is continuing with Birmingham City Council to provide a fast and efficient service to its tenants. We’re equally proud of the huge legacy we created over the past eight years and look forward to playing a major role over the next four in supporting the city’s growth by up-skilling many hundreds of people and creating new jobs.

“Our 4Life Academy is just one element of this contribution to the city’s future. Our Opening Doors programme is also a valuable gateway to the workplace, providing over 6,000 hours of work experience each year to Birmingham teenagers, many of which has then joined us and are now thriving with a life-long trade.”

Willmott Dixon has had a profound impact on the Birmingham landscape and economy in recent years. This includes delivering two substantial new award-winning facilities for Birmingham City University, the Parkside and Curzon buildings, which has transformed the Millennium Quarter. It also recently completed The University of Birmingham School for the University of Birmingham in Selly Oak, regarded as the template for university investment in new schools.

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