A Day in the World of Construction

The contractor gave a careers advisor from a local secondary school the opportunity to see how a construction contractor operates and the variety of roles involved.

At head office, they had sessions with representatives from every department including preconstruction, marketing, planning, IT, Finance, HR, H&S and QS. Following this they went to both Centre of Excellence sites and met with site management, trades and apprentices.

Following the day, the contractor is compiling short bios for each of the people they met that will be used to bring construction careers in to the curriculum and will be displayed around school. They are also setting curriculum-related challenges for the students e.g. bid writing in English, QS linked to maths and social value in citizenship.

It enables educators to have a real understanding of the industry and the people involved in it. By meeting with their staff and understanding their roles and the routes they took in to the industry, the careers advisor said she would now be able to show students the real opportunities available to them and break through their preconceived ideas of construction.

Producing bios and setting curriculum related challenges will consolidate this. The project is being presented as a case study to the NYBEP and the City of York Council to review future best practice in continuing professional development for careers advisors in schools.