Lovell in East Anglia welcomed 17 students from Acle Academy to its St Edmund’s Park site at Acle last week to learn about careers in construction and go behind the hoardings on a working building site, as part of Build UK’s Open Doors 2021.
The design technology students, aged between 14 and 16, learnt about brickwork and insulation, as well as seeing different stages of houses being built on the future 137 home site, from groundwork to completed properties.
Lovell recently teamed up with The Wensum Trust to help tackle the skills and jobs shortage in the construction industry and educate young people about the range of career opportunities in the sector.
Michael Green, head of design technology at Acle Academy, said: “Lovell’s partnership with Acle Academy offers students a fantastic opportunity to get into the building sector through an apprenticeship route. It is so important that students get first-hand experience in seeing the potential career avenues available to them to give more purpose to the education they receive on a daily basis. The students have been really looking forward to visiting the St Edmund’s Park site as it is in their local community. If we are going to address the skills shortage that the country currently finds itself in, these types of events add gravitas to potential career opportunities in the sector.”
Student Cullen Brown, aged 15 from Martham, said: “I want to go into construction, so it has been brilliant to see the building process, from foundations through to the final stages on a half million pound house. I have really enjoyed being on an active building site and come from a family of builders, and am looking to do an apprenticeship in the future.”
Lovell included sister company Morgan Sindall Construction as part of the partnership with The Wensum Trust, helping to provide further opportunities for young people across the region.
Simon Medler, regional managing director of Lovell in East Anglia, said: “A career in the construction industry is hugely rewarding and there is a range of roles and opportunities on offer. It is a skilled industry which we need more people to get into, so getting students to the site and seeing for themselves what a career in construction looks like is vital in sparking interest in our industry. The team really enjoyed meeting the students, answering their questions and seeing them engage in the idea of working in the industry, and giving the chance to go behind the scenes in areas that are not normally accessible to the public. We are currently sponsoring two students from Acle Academy, which will lead onto apprenticeships next year.”
Lovell and Morgan Sindall Construction are committed to providing jobs and training for local people and their apprentices gain valuable construction experience and qualifications, with on the job experience working with skilled construction and maintenance professionals.
Lovell is a partnership housing expert and a leading provider of innovative and high quality residential construction and regeneration developments across the UK, building homes, sourcing land and investing in communities. It is a trusted and reliable partner, with great people trusted to deliver great homes, developing long term partnerships with housing associations, local authorities and other partners for over 50 years.
For more information on Lovell visit www.lovell.co.uk or follow Lovell on social media.