Esh Border Construction has launched the second round of an initiative which brings together school pupils and prospective employers.

The award-winning Building My Skills employability programme launched with seven business partners in six schools in Scotland last year.

This academic year Esh Border Construction has expanded the programme to encompass 12 businesses and 11 schools across the country.

Building My Skills will now deliver 8,670 hours of education to over 1,600 pupils.

The primary aim of the programme is to equip young people leaving school with the employability skills they need to develop successful careers, getting first-hand advice from employers.

Esh Border Construction is partnering with: Beattie Communications, Peace Recruitment, Brodies Solicitors, Peter Brett Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tesco, Rabbies tour operators, Ryder Architecture, Thomson Gray, Capita, Northumberland Theatre Company and Travis Perkins.

Simon Phillips, regional managing director at Esh Border Construction, said: “Introducing our added value programmes as early as possible in our growth in Scotland was a key component of the business strategy.

“We did that with the commencement of the Building My Skills initiative last year. We had great support from the schools and businesses involved and are consequently delighted to announce that the scheme will almost double in size for year two.

“The primary aim of Building My Skills is to help prepare and motivate school pupils for the next steps in their lives and for the job market.

“The initiative would not work without the buy-in of our business partners and we would like to thank them for their continued support.”

Darush Dodds, head of corporate responsibility at Esh, added: “It was a fantastic experience rolling out the Building My Skills initiative in Scotland last year and it is brilliant that we have been able to double the student cohort for this academic year.

“The collaborative effort of our much valued business partners and the schools in bringing the initiative together cannot be underestimated.

“The programme covers many topics and areas which supplement academic work, increasing the scope of a young person’s learning journey.”

Delivered across the academic year, students receive five one hour sessions from business people across a range of sectors.

The Scottish schools taking part are:

Esh Group was awarded the Business in the Community Responsible Business Award 2015 in the Schools Partnership category for Building My Skills.

The Building My Skills initiative supports wider agendas of developing Scotland’s workforce by continuing to combat youth unemployment and boost long-term plans to address industry skills shortages.

Companies wishing to take part in Building My Skills can contact addedvalue@esh.uk.com for more information.