Four major housing developers have signed up to a scheme which encourages youngsters who have struggled at school to train for careers in construction.

Lovells, Wates, Bullocks and STG - firms carrying out work on Bradford Community Housing Trust's (BCHT) £175 million scheme to refurbish 24,000 former Bradford Council houses - are taking part in the YouthBuild Trust and Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) programme.

So far, 13 young people, mainly from disadvantaged backgrounds and who have struggled at school, have been signed up to the new programme which sees them spend three days on site and two days in training.

The training element is provided by Bradford College at the newly-reopened Barkerend Centre close to the city centre. The centre has been refurbished by YouthBuild and Bradford Council and the training is funded by CITB.

Under the schemes, the young people are recruited by YouthBuild and then undergo a two to three-month training programme focusing on personal development and ensuring they are suitable for employment.

"We want young people who are really committed and interested and really willing to go into construction and learn a trade," said Nawaz Khan, training and employment officer for YouthBuild, which is supported by Accent Community Partnerships. "It is about a partnership with employers, the CITB and Bradford College. It is great that we have relatively quickly turned meetings into action and put in place the procedures.

"I am really excited about the commitment of the employers in supporting the scheme because it gives these young people a chance of a lifetime to get into good careers."

The scheme has been praised as a pioneering example of how to tackle the skills shortage in construction.

Dennis Molloy, contracts manager of Bullock Construction, said the four apprentices his firm had taken on had impressed. "Construction desperately needs apprentices and this is one way of getting them," he said.

"These young people are trained to be multi-skilled and that is really valuable to the industry. It also gets the young people off the streets and gives them a real sense of purpose."

Anne Jukes, Bradford office manager for Wates, said: "We wanted to recruit from within Bradford for both office and construction staff. We have been very impressed by the young people and their willingness to develop their skills."

BCHT group asset manager Jim Smith said participation in the scheme was a central part of the firm's community commitment. "We are very pleased with the way things are moving and that the partners we are working with are so enthusiastic," he said. "We are committed to the Bradford area not just in training and employment but in boosting the economy as a whole."

Nigel Smith, brickwork lecturer at Bradford College, who is training the apprentices, said: "The Bradford area is well represented by big construction firms at the moment and that provides an opportunity for students. We have already had some very positive feedback from both the students and the employers."