Industry insight opportunity for construction students and graduates

An opportunity to gain some exposure to working construction sites has been presented by a new project. Open Doors, a collaborative initiative to allow the public to visit working construction sites, may offer construction students and graduates a chance to boost their employability.

The project, which is to be held over the weekend of 9 – 10 November 2012, is the product of a combined effort by The UK Contractors Group (UKCG), the Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council, CITBConstructionSkills, The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

As the first initiative of its kind in the sector, the stated aim of Open Doors is ‘to raise the profile of the industry, challenge stereotypes and encourage greater engagement with the public and local communities to attract talent into the industry.’

What can construction students and graduates gain from Open Doors?

For construction students and graduates, Open Doors may be a good way to:

• Become more familiar with sites
• Demonstrate keenness and interest in the industry – it could be good fodder for applications and interviews
• Pick up useful facts about particular sites or projects – it may be useful if applying to the company and also just for general industry awareness
• Find networking opportunities with site managers, for example, who may be able to tell them of any jobs or help them to get work experience.

Companies involved include graduate employers BAM Construct and Skanska, at sites in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff, among others.

The participating sites will be open to the public on Friday 9 November 9am – 4pm and Saturday 10 November 9am – 1pm. Some of the sites may require to be pre booked; more information can be found on the Open Doors website.

Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Monday 27th August 2012