The Budding Brunels programme has grown enormously in the last year and Construction Youth Trust understands the need to meet the ever-changing nature of the construction industry and reflect this in our programmes. As part of a new curriculum for the programme we are hoping to include Building Information Modelling (BIM) in order for students to understand the importance of technology in the built environment and to keep the course engaging and innovative for students.

To this end, Ivan Mills from London South Bank University has kindly been working with us to develop some initial...

Who are you, and how does Construction Youth Trust know you?

I’m Sean Thomas, and I’m currently a student at the City of Westminster College studying a BTEC level 3 extended diploma in Civil Engineering. I know Construction Youth Trust because I completed the Budding Brunels course in October 2014.

Tell us a bit about the specific Budding Brunels project you came on?

I spent 3 days on the Budding Brunels course. The first day we spoke to professionals in the industry informing us of how they got to their position within the construction industry,...

Our ‘Introduction to Property Development’ programme in partnership with Land Securities came to a head last week when our two teams of A-level students pitched their masterplans to a panel of development ‘Dragons’.

The educational course was especially designed to give students from schools local to the Victoria developments a valuable insight into the professions involved in property development and the different career options open to them.

Every week for three months, 16 A-level students, from Westminster City School and Pimlico Academy have been...

Thanks to Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group, we were treated to a fantastic tour of the 'Walkie Talkie' building, otherwise known as 20 Fenchurch street.

A group including members of our Central and Budding Brunels teams joined by Budding Brunels alumnus, Mary, enjoyed the views from the 37th floor.

During the tour we learnt about how the building had been designed using BIM technology and is still so new it is visited monthly by the architects - from Canada!

This curved building, so designed to maximise use of available space, stands at 34-stories 160 m (525...

Carmel's an Architectural Assistant - Read her story:

In this months Budding Brunels newsletter, we’re talking to Carmel Keren, an Architectural Assistant at Fletcher Priest Architects. Carmel will be explaining just what it means to be a fully qualified architect, and letting us all know about what it’s like to work for a major architectural practice.

Who are you, what’s your job, and what company do you work for?

I’m Carmel, I work as a Part I Architectural Assistant for Fletcher Priest Architects. The practice employs around 100 people...

This month, twenty-one young people joined our Budding Brunels programme run in partnership with Argent and UAL: Central Saint Martins. In addition to networking with members of diverse construction professions and developing interview skills, students also undertook a design challenge over the course of the three days.

After visiting some of the mixed-use sites on the Kings Cross development with staff from Argent, BAM and Carillion, students were briefed on the project that they were to complete in teams over the remainder of the course. The challenge was to redesign one of the...

Sam's a graduate Energy Engineer - Read his story:

In the monthly Budding Brunels newsletter, we’ve started to interview young professionals working within the Built Environment. In our first feature, we’ve spoken to Sam Benjamin, a graduate Energy Engineer. He’s here to unpick what exactly an Energy Engineer does, and why he’s enjoying his time at major consultancy firm BuroHappold.

Who you are and what’s your job?

I’m Samuel Benjamin and I work for BuroHappold Engineering in the Energy team as a Graduate Energy Engineer. We devise...

What better way to promote careers in construction following National Careers Week than to thank British Land, Mace Group, TFL, FM Conway, Laing O’ Rourke, Squire Partners, Waterman Group, Network Rail, Carillion, Sir Robert Mc Alpine and HS2 who all last month offered our students a total of 48 week-long work placements in different construction positions. These work placements will play a vital role for the students, giving the opportunity to explore first hand the world of construction.

These placements not only will help our Budding Brunels to boost their CVs but also...