Construction students and the Royal Marines both reaped benefits from a project that provided a real work situation with a challenge for the city college's construction faculty this summer.

The 9-month community project was focused on refurbishing and renovating the existing Operations in Built Up Areas facility at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone and involved over 30 full-time students, apprentices and staff from Exeter College.

Replacing timber doors, windows, shutters and flooring as well as painting all the internal and external walls was carried out with learners in small groups working on individual aspects of the building, honing hand skills and improving their construction underpinning knowledge.

“For our full-time learners, this was the first opportunity they had to experience working in proper site conditions,” said Nick Sprechley, deputy head of the construction faculty, “the weather at times did test their commitment to a construction career! The project has significantly enhanced the learners' experience – we have taken the out of the simulated environment and the confines of the college facilities and put the into a real work situation where they have had to demonstrate they can produce work to a high standard in line with National Occupational Standards, in a safe manner and to the satisfaction of the customer.”

The project was part of an on-going partnership between Exeter College and the Royal Marines with the construction faculty running carpentry courses in support of the Royal Marines Assault Engineers branch.

Commenting on the success of the course, Nick continued “this has been the first time we hAe been able to take on a project of this size with so many Learners being involved, with multiple trades working together to produce the final product. All learners involved can now add this work experience to their cvs, giving them something additional to offer a future employer.”