Thanks to John Farley, a building surveyor in Flintshire County Council’s Housing Maintenance department, and the efforts of Deeside College students, Council tenants at Bolingbroke Heights in Flint have had their homes redecorated.
John wanted to help tenants whose homes had been rewired and needed decorating. Through a Council employee suggestion scheme, John put forward the idea to work in partnership with students from the painting and decorating department at Deeside College. Paint company Dulux provided the Council with vouchers for the tenants to use as part of their decoration scheme, and the decorating was done by the students as part of their training.
John Farley said:
“It occurred to me that this could be a great opportunity for students from Deeside College to get involved, so I brought up the idea through our employee suggestion scheme and, once it was approved, I also approached the college, who have been very supportive.
“It’s another great example of partnership working. Not only that, but it’s a win/win situation for all – the elderly residents benefit from the students providing a decoration service, and the students gain valuable site experience for future employment.”
Deeside College Painting and Decorating Lecturer Keith Massey said:
“This project has been an excellent opportunity for our students to develop the skills that they learn here in College and also to experience life working on site. These projects are a key area of our students learning and we hold some great relationships with local employers such as Flintshire County Council to facilitate this”.
Painting and Decorating student, Josh Davies (17) from Holywell who has been working on the project said:
“I have really enjoyed working with the Council at Bolingbroke Heights. It’s really good to know that our work is actually benefiting people from our local community. Being able to work on projects such as this one is a great part of the course because we are able to test our skills in a real work environment.”
