b&m have an ongoing commitment to engaging with students – with the aims of encouraging and influencing their journeys into construction. We do this by entering schools where we can and informing them about our industry to guide them through the possibilities of a career.
We recently spent time at King Ethelbert School. The mixed secondary school welcomed us for a career fair hosted by EBP Kent. We had the chance to speak to small groups of students at a time and give them the platform to ask any questions.
Kenny Pratt and Jake Whittlesea, King Ethelbert School
Prior to that, we’d visited Hopeview School to take part in their careers fair. This was a new experience for us as the school is a specialised SEN school, dedicated to educating students with Special Educational needs. We were delighted to be able to interact with these students and tell them about our industry whilst gaining insight on some of their aspirations.
Paul Gannaway, Hope View School
A complex and consistent theme within the construction industry is the lack of prevalent skills within our general workforce. This is a result of many factors. One if these factors is the lack of engagement that our industry has within schools. Though we have seen improvement in recent years, our industry is rarely promoted as a suitable career route. By going into schools and presenting them with the vast amount of career routes within construction, we can equip students with all that they need to succeed. This in turn rectifying the skills shortage in the long run.
We look forward to engaging with schools more in the future and making a difference in the lives of students.
