Construction Youth Trust have developed and piloted a suite of online resources to inspire young people about careers in the construction and built environment sector.

Research shows that most young people have made decisions about their careers choices by the age of 14., These decisions are rarely linked to roles within construction and the built environment. Construction Youth Trust believe that to raise the profile and desirability of industry careers, the sector needs to be engaging with young people at an early stage in their decision making process. One effective way of doing this is to deliver engaging employer-led sessions in schools.

The Contextualised Curriculum project, funded by the CITB and delivered in partnership with the London Regional Construction Training Group, provides industry professionals and teachers with a range of curriculum linked sessions that champion construction and built environment careers.

Stephen Cole, Head of Careers Strategy, CITB, said: “Those working within the construction industry know that it is broad, diverse and presents those interested with many exciting opportunities to secure and progress a fulfilling career.  The challenge, however, evolves around making sure that those without a connection to the industry have access to this information in an engaging way that also allows schools across the country to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.  The Contextualised Curriculum resources have built in the important role played by employers in addressing this challenge, bring our dynamic industry to life using the curriculum, give the beneficiaries an opportunity to start articulating their skills and motivations in preparation for what can be a competitive labour market, and move us in a very positive direction as we tackle the industry’s wider skills shortage.”

Developed in partnership with both industry and schools, the sessions blend students’ existing skills and learning with real world-of-work scenarios. The sessions contextualise students’ learning and allow them to gain an understanding of why what they learn at school is relevant to the wider working world. For students at risk of becoming disengaged with school, giving them practical demonstrations of the importance of their learning can revitalise their interest and reengage them with their education. The employer led engagements also help schools to meet the mandatory Gatsby benchmarks.

 “We are very thankful to the CITB for their generous support of the Contextualised Curriculum project. Their funding gave the Trust an invaluable platform to produce a set of effective resources that can be used to inspire the next generation about careers in our industry on a Nationwide scale.” Carol Lynch, Chief Executive Construction Youth Trust

Following the initial pilot year, 87% of young people said that by the end of the session they had increased their knowledge of careers in the construction and built environment sector and 66% said they were more interested in an industry career.

The Contextualised Curriculum sessions are designed to be ready-made resources that can be picked up and immediately put into practice with a group of students. Each session pack includes a session plan, student worksheets, a PowerPoint presentation and any needed additional resources. There is also a handy How-To Contextualised Curriculum Guide offering support and tips on how to make the most of your school engagements.

All the sessions are free to use and can be downloaded from Construction Youth Trust’s website and will soon be available on the GoConstruct. Visit https://www.constructionyouth.org.uk/our-programmes/contextualised-curriculum to find out more about the individual sessions available.

About Construction Youth Trust

• Construction Youth Trust works with young people to help them overcome barriers and access employment opportunities in the Construction and Built Environment sector.
• The Trust’s mission is to inspire and support young people to achieve their full career potential in the Construction and Built Environment sector. Social mobility is at the heart of our work and we prioritise supporting the hardest to reach young people, i.e. those from low income backgrounds, most likely to miss out on opportunities or facing barriers to employment. We help young people recognise their potential and discover opportunities that have never previously been presented to them.
• For further information please visit www.constructionyouthtrust.org.uk or email charlotte.higgins@constructionyouth.org.uk