WANNABE electrician Toby McCauley was welcomed on site for his first full day as apprentice on the U+I Circus Street construction project in central Brighton.

The 16-year old Met student will be working on the site for two days a week while he studies to become an electrician at the college.

Toby from Patcham said, “My dad’s an electrician and I enjoy practical work so I’ve always wanted to be an electrician.

“This is a really great opportunity for me – not many kids get a chance to work on such a major project and I’m excited about learning on the Circus Street site.”

More vacancies for apprenticeships will become available after Christmas according to Chris Sloan, project manager for Circus Street from Henry Construction.

He said: “This is just the start of our focus on employing local people.

“Working closely with Brighton and Hove City Council, we are trying to recruit as many local people on site as possible because it benefits everybody.

“We have eight jobs to recruit right now and we’re at Brighton and Hove Job Fair aiming to fill some of our vacancies – and we’ve already employed 20 local people on the site.”

Machine operator Stephen Head and plant operator Benjamin Caesar Ajani are among the first local people employed.

Current job vacancies include an undergraduate construction project manager, trainee quantity surveyor, undergraduate planner, machine operators and general labourers. Details can be found at Brighton and Hove Job Centre.

Karen McCormick from U+I, the developers behind the project, said: “Local involvement in the development of this regeneration project is one of the things that excites us most about Circus Street.

“Our local recruitment means that residents are creating the community in which they live and it is a level of investment that goes beyond financial; it is an investment in Brighton’s future.”

U+I announced that construction had started last month, having secured funding for the delivery of the project.

A public private partnership between U+I and Brighton and Hove City Council, this important £130 million project will see a derelict, former fruit and vegetable market in central Brighton transformed into a thriving new quarter and cultural destination for the city.

U+I is also the developer bringing forward proposals for Preston Barracks and the University of Brighton’s Moulsecoomb campus.

The development, designed by leading architects shedkm with TP Bennett, will create over 400 jobs and inject £200 million into the local economy over the next ten years and includes 142 new homes, 450 student bedrooms, 30,000 sq ft of new office space plus workshops offering creative businesses start up accommodation and room to grow.

Henry Construction was appointed as contractor standing out for its emphasis on offering local jobs and apprenticeships.