[James]

House proud

Big Brother's first winner, Craig Phillips, now runs a construction college

Riazat Butt
Tuesday February 7, 2006
The Guardian


Craig Phillips puts a young recruit straight. Photograph: Don McPhee



Big Brother winners usually exploit their celebrity status with OK! covers and supermarket openings, before sinking back into obscurity. The cannier contestants might release a workout DVD. But one who eschewed fleeting riches is Craig Phillips, the chirpy Liverpudlian who won the first series of Big Brother, in 2000.

Phillips, who famously gave his £70,000 winnings to a teenager who needed a heart and lung transplant, enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame. But he was wise enough not to turn his back on the trade he had practised since he was a teenager.

He has added to his reputation as a philanthropist by lending his name, skills, money and experience to a building training centre in Liverpool.

Phillips, who is dyslexic, left school at 15 with no qualifications. So he went to work in a butcher's shop. But he took the decision to do a City and Guilds qualification in brickwork. Just 18 months later, he was running his own construction firm and has done ever since.

Inside the shell of a warehouse on an Aintree industrial estate, the familiar figure watches students toil away. Lads tear down old plaster, only to replace it, hours later, with a fresh layer. Others saw away energetically at planks that will find life as skirting boards or doorframes. They are learning to be bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters, and their education is taking place far away from the classroom.

It's a make-believe building site, but the 44 work bays simulate real conditions, from the emphasis on health and safety to the freezing temperatures, tea breaks and banter. The lads treat Phillips with a blend of cheek and respect.

"Since coming out of Big Brother five years ago, I've kept my hand in. I still work seven days a week. Although I have done TV work [he presents a DIY show on the Discovery Home and Leisure Channel], I was still involved with the construction industry - and that's how the idea of a college came about."

Phillips explains: "I couldn't find the staff in Merseyside. I spoke to the Learning and Skills Council and construction companies and was told that, with conventional training, there was too much of a jump between the classroom and the construction site. Here, they get 19 weeks of full training, then we filter them out on to sites to get them work experience, then we bring them back for one day a week. They are continually assessed."

The project took two years of planning and research. Phillips and his business partners, Mike and Elaine Hindley, invested £500,000 in the centre, which offers NVQs taught by qualified, experienced staff. The LSC has provided an additional £1m funding.

The timing couldn't be better. According to the Construction Industry Training Board, more than 8,000 extra building workers are needed in Liverpool to complete vital work before 2008, when it hosts the European Capital of Culture.

Phillips says: "There's £16bn of regeneration work going on in the region. Some companies are taking on foreign labour, because it's cheaper, but they might not be familiar with the latest building techniques and health and safety regulations."

Phillips is grateful for his media exposure. "Big Brother gave me opportunities. It gave me the chance to work on television, which meant I got paid more and I was able to invest in my business. I'm really proud that I can put something back into Liverpool."

For more information, visit www.craigsbuildingskills.com

http://education.guardian.co.uk/furt...703584,00.html