In celebration of its 15th anniversary, Inco Contracts has increased funding for its Early Years’ Talent Academy to £150,000 per year. The principal contractor—with offices in Cannock, Cardiff, Stevenage, and Warrington—aims to tackle the sector’s skills shortage by expanding apprenticeships, on-the-job training, formal qualifications, and one-to-one mentoring from senior leaders.
Since launching the Academy, Inco Contracts has trained six recruits into skilled professionals, some of whom have advanced into management roles. The enhanced programme is designed to attract new entrants and retain existing staff by offering clear career paths and company-funded college or university education aligned with personal goals.
“Skills are a growing issue for our sector and our ability to grow. Rather than stand still, we decided to take positive action and create our own training programme,” said Sam Norton, Operations Director.
“This has been a fantastic initiative for attracting young talent to join us as a fledgling contractor and we wanted to further renew our commitment to this. Our 15th anniversary felt like the perfect opportunity to extend it by increasing the funding to £150,000.”
Norton added that real project-based experience from day one sets Inco Contracts apart, and that the company’s 20% annual growth depends on developing its own workforce.
“We provide real project-based experience from day one, setting us apart from our competitors, with a progression pathway aligned with their personal goals. Annual growth is running at around 20% and we can’t completely rely on the existing labour pool if we want to maintain this level of expansion. Growing our own talent is the preferred option to address the skills shortage and I’m delighted that we have given our proven scheme an ‘anniversary boost’”, added Norton.
Managing Director David Cotterill emphasized the broader impact of homegrown talent:
“It’s crucial that we deliver talent from the ground up. By doing this we’re helping address the ‘gap’ and create opportunities for people who might otherwise be overlooked by the sector. Our goal is to make construction more accessible, modern and rewarding. In a tight labour market, the companies that invest in people will be the ones that continue to thrive.”
One early success story is Harry Merrick, who joined the scheme in 2020 as a Trainee Contracts Manager and within a year advanced to Assistant Contracts Manager while completing a Level 3 BTEC and enrolling in an HNC in Construction Management. He recently led a tender securing a near £1 million refurbishment project and is pursuing Chartered status.
Inco Contracts will mark its anniversary with a series of events and announcements. For more information, visit incocontracts.co.uk.
