Construction Youth Trust: Building skills for the future

The construction industry faces a demand for skills in a range of roles. With one in five of the UK’s construction workforce due to retire in the next 5-10 years and uncertainty around the impact of Brexit on construction employment, there are questions as to who will build the UK's future infrastructure and construction projects.

Yet, recruiting young people into the industry is an increasing challenge. A recent YouGov poll indicated that only 3% of 18-24 year olds had ever searched for a job in the industry, despite it employing 10% of the UK's workforce.

Construction Youth Trust (CYT) was set up by the industry, for the industry, 50 years ago and works with young people, inspiring them to consider careers in construction by giving them experience, the opportunity to meet industry employers and take part in informative and practical courses. 18 months ago, SCAPE funded Construction Youth Trust to deliver six Budding Brunels projects in each of the SCAPE shareholder areas; Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire, Derby City, Gateshead, Warwickshire and Derbyshire. Starting in November 2017, CYT and SCAPE, along with framework contractors, have delivered four of the six projects.

Out of the four recent programmes, we have collectively engaged with 79 young people from 14 schools and colleges within Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Gateshead. Furthermore, as a direct response to their participation in the Budding Brunels projects, 33% of students (26 young people) have undertaken or planned work experience placements with the team at SCAPE and their partners.

Below is an overview of the first Budding Brunels project in Nottingham City, where 100% of participating students said they could see themselves working in the construction industry following the course.

Construction Youth Trust partnered with SCAPE, GF Tomlinson, Nottingham City Council and AR Demolition to deliver the first of six Budding Brunels projects.

25 young people from three Nottingham schools participated in the programme and were taken on site tours of the Broadmarsh Car Park demolition and the newly built Advanced Manufacturing Building. Students also took part in construction activities related to the Broadmarsh Car Park site, designed to challenge and develop their problem-solving and teamwork skills. The final day saw students present to industry professionals in a Dragon’s Den format and take part in one-to-one mock interviews.

As a result of her participation in the programme, one student, Imogen, gained work experience with Lungfish, SCAPE's architectural practice - click here to find out what she got up to. You can also hear from the students on their experiences in the video below.

You can read more about the Gateshead, Derby and Nottinghamshire projects on the Construction Youth Trust website here.