More than 40 employers forged links with construction students from City College Norwich on Wednesday 22nd October at an event to connect young people with work placement and apprenticeship opportunities in the industry.
Bright Futures Live, organised by Construction East, Norfolk Constructing Excellence Club, and City College Norwich, enabled hundreds of face-to-face conversations to take place between students and employers. With so many employers coming together, students were able to find out about a diverse range of opportunities – spanning architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, groundworks, property development, project management, quantity surveying, electrical installation, scaffolding, bricklaying and much more.
The two floors of the college’s Construction Skills Hub, which is normally used for teaching plumbing and electrical skills, was transformed into a thriving exhibition space for the event which was attended by around 600 students.
Each student provided a short biography ahead of the event, including specific areas of work they are interested in, to make it as easy as possible to match them with suitable opportunities.
The idea for the event was borne out of the requirement for students on the T Level in Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction to complete at least 315 hours on a work placement. The college’s construction department recognised that the opportunity to meet directly with employers would be beneficial for all its students and so – with the help of Construction East and Norfolk Constructing Excellence Club – the event developed into something much bigger.
In addition to talking to employers, students were given the chance to get hands-on with bricklaying, thanks to East Anglia Brickwork, and to put on VR headsets to see how virtual reality has become a valuable project management tool in the industry.
Students also gained insights into different aspects of the industry through a series of employer talks – covering bricklaying, quantity surveying, what it’s like to be a construction apprentice, Scott Taylor’s career journey from apprentice carpenter to business owner, and mental health and wellbeing at work.