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Students show talent for construction in
Gleeds challenge
STUDENTS from Holly Lodge Girls College in Liverpool got
the chance to see what life in the construction industry is really like when a
team from the building consultancy responsible for the Olympic Stadium, Pinewood
film studios and Daytona Speedway joined them in the classroom this week.
Property and construction consultancy Gleeds, teamed up with educational charity
The Transformation Trust, to organise a curriculum aligned challenge which saw
63 students aged 11 to 14 take part in a specially devised workshop. The
participants were split into groups of five and spent the day planning every
aspect of a hypothetical construction project at Windsor Castle.
The initiative has been mirrored in Secondary Schools across the country as part
of the business' annual Global Challenge volunteering event. In 2017, staff
from across its 68 offices, worldwide, will be donating a total of 7500 hours;
the equivalent of over 3 working years; of their time in a bid to inspire
the next generation of construction professionals.
The best entries from the 64 UK workshops will now be put forward into a
national final, with winners selected by a top panel including:- Gleeds Chairman,
Richard Steer and Partner at Make Architects, Ken Shuttleworth, with the
successful team winning a tour around Windsor Castle.
Lord Andrew Stunell, the peer heading up a review of challenges faced by the
construction industry post Brexit, has lent his support to the programme,
saying:- "To meet the current skills shortage the UK construction sector
must recruit 1 person every 77 2nds until the year 2021. If we are even going
to come close to that we first need to engage with young people and I think this
is a really fantastic way of showing off everything construction has to offer."
Chris Seddon, director of Gleeds in Liverpool went on to say:- "Our
industry is facing a huge challenge in terms of recruiting new staff and it is
up to us to try and change the misinformed perceptions, encouraging the next
generation to take up Careers in our industry. Having seen the imagination,
creativity and raw talent on display during our workshop I am confident that
this year's Global Challenge can inspire students everywhere to look at
construction in a new light."
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