Ex-soldiers to attend heroic training complex in Cuckfield

Building Heroes, a charity which will run at the site of Court Meadow School on Hanlye Lane, will teach trainees construction or horticultural skills free of charge.

Chief executive Brendan Williams is hoping the project will begin with ten trainees this month, with the hope to take on 50 trainees in the future.

He said: “A lot of these people are family men, they have children, they want to lead a normal life but they don’t have a career.

“It’s all about them, creating second life opportunities and first life opportunities.”

Brendan hopes to rent Horsgate House to use as accommodation for trainees, who will stay for six weeks.

He continued: “The idea is that we train people over their last year in the armed forces, which they have time allowances for.

“If they like us and we like them they can live here and set them on their way, showing them what they can become.”

Building Heroes will train in groups of ten, with 18 to 24-year-old men who are not in education, employment or training, and seven unemployed ex-servicemen.

“When people live in the armed forces they can become institutionalised, they can learn from civilians, who can learn the value of working hard from the ex service men,” Mr Williams said.

Pete Bradbury, Mid Sussex district councillor for Cuckfield and West Sussex county councillor for Cuckfield and Lucastes, has helped set up Building Heroes.

He explained: “It’s about discipline and self discipline. Train to employ, that’s the message.

“It starts off here with the intention to become a national scheme.”

Mr Williams, who was an investment banker for 25 years, explained: “No one makes money out of this enterprise, it’s owned by the people who work in it, nobody gets rich.

“People have asked why I’m doing it and I’ve said because I think it’s the right thing to do.

“Ten per cent of rough sleepers are ex armed forces, when you consider there are only 100000 people in the armed forces and 60 million people in the UK, it’s a huge amount. We need to help them into a second career.”

He added that a high number of young unemployed men are living in the South East.

“In the next five years we need 180,000 more construction workers, there’s not enough time.”

The project has been supported by Cuckfield Parish Council and county councillors Mike Brown and Louise Goldsmith, who will hand over keys to Court Meadow before October 27.

Court Meadow School is fully wheelchair accessible, making it suitable for injured ex servicemen.

Trainees will complete an initial assessment to establish how practical and social they are including one on one interviews and group exercises.

The scheme will also teach functional skills such as Maths and English.

They then may move on to horticultural training.

Vocational skills training will include plastering, rendering, carpentry, painting and decorating and plumbing.

“The main environmental problem in this country which needs to be addressed is refurbishment,” Mr Williams said.

“We have allotments where we can grow the stuff we’re going to eat. We’re teaching people how to build and refurbish sustainable housing.”

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