Industry experts took time out from their busy schedules to help spread the word about career opportunities available in construction.
Visitors from some of the region’s leading organisations in the sector met at Stockton Riverside College where they delivered a series of workshops for schoolchildren.
“The aim of the event was to raise awareness of construction and the technical and professional roles within it,” said John Cartwright, the College’s Programme Area Leader for Construction, Engineering and Design.
“There’s obviously traditional trades such as bricklayers, joiners and plasterers in the industry, but there’s also technical and professional routes in construction.”
Around 70 students attended the event from secondary schools including North Shore Academy, Dyke House School, Manor Community Academy and High Tunstall College of Science.
Youngsters were joined by representatives from a variety of construction organisations and firms, all offering an in-depth insight into life in the sector – as well as helping to shatter industry stereotypes.
Among those working with the schoolchildren on the day, Gill Sweeney, Resident Liaison Manager with housing and regeneration specialist, Keepmoat, said: “Showing young people the career opportunities that are there can only benefit the future of the industry.
“We have been regularly linking in with the Construction students at Stockton Riverside College to offer students site visits. It is showing the next generation what the industry is all about rather than just learning in the classroom environment. This event also offered another way to reach out to young people, showing them all the industry has to offer and what it’s all about.”
Thomas Lamb, Chair of the Chartered Institute of Building’s Novus group and Pre-construction Co-ordinator for Keepmoat, said: “Today was about helping to change the perception of construction and promote the diversity of the roles that the industry offers.
“Construction shouldn’t be seen as an industry to go into as a last resort or if you are not academic. A lot of people have a perception that the industry is just about laying bricks or being on site, and there is that side of it, but as an industry it can offer so many more opportunities.”
Organisations attending the Build Your Career in Construction event at Stockton Riverside College included the Chartered Institute of Building, Construction Excellence North East, Keepmoat Construction, the National House Builders Confederation, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the National Association of Women in Construction and NETA.