When Paul Braithwaite was at a Construction Youth Trust charity function around Christmas, he heard about Mal Emerson who runs Unit 19 Training, an industrial unit in Sandfields, Port Talbot, South Wales which trains young men, and mature men and women, for work in construction and to progress into a field of their choice. Here, Paul talks to Mal about his work.
MAL Emerson is somewhat of a visionary. He works at Unit 19 Training, a workshop which is part of a regeneration charity called New Sandfields Aberavon.

Basically, he takes disaffected youngsters and turns them into construction workers.

As might be expected it is easier said than done but the feel-good factor must make up for the angst.

Unit 19 Training is an unprepossessing workshop on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Port Talbot in South Wales.

The unit was not Mal's idea, he insists. It is what was needed, though. All he had to do was make it work.

He wanted to take disaffected youngsters who were not doing well at school and turn them into carpenters and (now) plumbers - young workers whom employers would want.

He approached local schools and explained to teachers the sort of pupils he wanted.

He wanted practical youths who were unhappy with school.

And that is exactly what he got.

One day a week - Friday - these teenagers came to the unit and learned how to use tools, cut wood, make cabinets, fences, chairs etc. In fact, some of them wanted to forget college and just attend Unit 19 Training.That was not part of the deal, explains Mal.

'The youths had to attend school, behave well and work towards their GCSEs as well or they could not come here.'

Mal explains one or two still dropped behind in their school work and they were not allowed to attend Unit 19 either. Don't forget, he insists, these youths are practical, not academic. They will not go to university.

For many, their parents and even grandparents have probably not had jobs since being laid off as miners or steel workers years ago.

'Why bother about college when all they have to look forward to is life on the dole. It is easier to sign on, collect the £200-plus benefit, go home and watch television with the rest of the family.'

In this part of South Wales, some 23% of adults are 'economically inactive' which, laughs Mal, is the latest euphemism for being on the dole or on benefit.

But Unit 19 Training isn't just about woodworking or plumbing.

The trainers teach the lads about estimating, ordering, invoicing and even working as a team, all the other essential skills needed to be in business.

For instance, one of the woodwork tutors is Paul Davies. He is paid by the WEA (Workers Education Assosiation), a charity which helps to fund trainers. Paul owned his own kitchen and bathroom installation business until he sold it on and retired so he is certainly capable of more than the woodwork part of the work. Another trainer is Steve David.

Once the basic training is over, the trainees become part of a self-funding project where goods they make, such as garden furniture and cupboards, are sold to fund the unit. About six weeks into the programme and teachers back at the school report a change in attitude from the lads, says Mal.

'Suddenly the pupils realise why they need maths and English and social skills. The teachers report a complete change, attendance and behaviour at school improves. The pupils want to go to college. They understand the reasons why they should.'

Mal insists that part of the training process is about self-esteem.

'We try to give the lads the self-confidence they need to go out and find a job.

He was an m&e engineer who worked for steel company Corus. While he was recovering from an accident at work, he retrained as a trainer and is now project manager of Unit 19 Training.

Mal says there are plenty of jobs in construction. But it is also a case of changing the mentality of people who are growing up in an environment where whole families are out of work.

So successful was the unit that Mal was able to move the idea on.



On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the unit instructs older men and women - Mal has linked with a charity for battered women - and again trains them for work in construction. Don't forget there are administrators as well as bricklayers, etc.

Mal adds some of the older men and women have skills which can be harnessed and passed on and these people are used as volunteer trainers and teamed with others who are not so good.

And again the courses are designed around the skills of those involved and those whose skills need developing.

'All the trainees have to be able to write about what they have done and how they did it. The unit is part of the Open College Network and when the trainees leave, they are trained in health and safety, the use of hand and power tools, standing machinery etc and have a recognised qualification.'

Basic skills such as reading and writing are addressed in the delivery of the coursework and Unit 19 Training won a national award for innovative ways to deliver the basic skills. By writing up about items that they have made and tools they have used, it becomes more interesting to sit down with a trainer and learn to read and write.

One or two of the older men, says Mal, have been able to take, for instance, health and safety jobs, because of the work they had done in the past and the training they have received at the unit.

Unit 19 Training has been operating since 2002. Last year, some 54 trainees passed through the unit, of which 18 were youths.

All but two (of the 18) went on to modern apprenticeships, national apprenticeships or further education - and all within the construction industry.

Latest venture for the unit is a plumbing course for youngsters.

Mal has also recently taken over the unit next door and this will be used as a workshop when it is fitted out. Now, when the youths have finished the course, they can stay with Unit 19 until they find themselves a job.

Under the tutelage of the instructors they have fitted out the new unit and are producing furniture and other lines which are sold to make money to keep the unit going.



Other funding and help comes from the WEA and charities such as the Construction Youth Trust.

Once the youths have finished the course, Mal works with the CITB to find them places at colleges or as apprentices or even with other companies or they can stay on and work with Unit 18, (the unit next door).

Mal has just received £1.2million extra money to increase the size of the unit. The new initiative will now be called STRIDES (Sandfields Training Resource Initiative Developing Employment Skills).

And this is where the plumbing, painting and decorating, business administration and catering courses come in.

There is a free childcare facility which again will have instructors and the trainees who will be trained as nursery nurses.

It will, Mal hopes, become self-funding. For instance, the business administration unit would outsource its accounts section or secretarial duties.



The training for the catering staff will be undertaken on-the-job at a council leisure centre on the seafront at Port Talbot.

Mal is aiming for 50:50 male/female split.

The courses will be basically the same as the carpentry one and will teach the trainees how to estimate, team work, business administration etc and, essentially, self confidence.

Mal says that when he approached the Construction Youth Trust, CYT liked what it saw and has been funding Unit 19 (which is separate from STRIDES) continually.

And this is what Mal needs. More funding so that he can continue to keep up the good work. He is not too proud either to take gifts of tools or materials - or money, especially, he laughs, money.

There is a skills shortage in construction. Mal is doing his best for construction, for the people of Port Talbot and for Unit 19.



Community service

WHEN the women have been trained in practical skills, Unit 19 Training has its Handy Mandy service where they help the elderly and vulnerable and where women are often more trusted than men tradesmen.

Once again, it is a case of boosting their self-esteem, guiding them to agencies who can help them and, ultimately, finding them a job.

Mal tied up with a local women's charity Chwerae teg (Fairplay) and some 20 women have learned skills or enhanced them.

These women represent all levels of skills and disciplines including one who is now able to return to work after having a child and is studying to become a surveyor.

Success story

MAL Emerson has had many successes but one stands out.

Mark came to the unit a year ago. He had fallen out with his parents who despaired of him, been expelled from school, and was taking drugs and drinking.

A few months after attending Unit 19, he had come off the drugs, rid himself of his “druggie” mates, been reconciled with his parents, had woodworking skills and had gone out and got himself a job with a shed construction company.

So what did Unit 19 do that was different? Nothing, says Mal. He was treated like any other trainee.

Perhaps that is the reason!

If you would like to donate to Unit 19 Training, call Mal on 01639 893694. To donate to the Construction Youth Trust call 020 7608 5147