When I last spoke to you all, I was in my first couple of weeks at Construction Youth Trust and was getting to grips with my new role and working in a charity for the first time.

It’s quite hard to believe that 4 months have passed since that first post, as it has been a jam-packed period full of so many new professional experiences! These have included producing content for our social media platforms, helping with the charities recruitment processes, taking over the management of our laptop loan scheme and a whole host of other opportunities.

However, the topic of...

We are overjoyed to announce that four of our young people, who took part in our Year 13 mentoring programme at St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School, have secured apprenticeship opportunities for the next academic year!

Year 13 is a crucial time for young people on the cusp of leaving school and preparing to take the next steps of their career journeys. Despite the academic year being drastically affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the young people have shown determination and hard work to gain their apprenticeships. Two of our young people have secured Teaching Assistant...

Funded by the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, the Investing in Rehabilitation programme is a collaboration between Construction Youth Trust and the Kent Youth Justice Team. Through the programme young people are equipped with the tools and training to make a positive transition into the world of work.

A group of our young people in Kent recently took part in a two week project that saw them explore their practical construction skills as well as develop their employability prowess. The group threw themselves into their carpentry and tiling tasks, working alongside an industry volunteer...

We are supporting the curriculum at TBAP Beachcroft AP Academy with our Level 1 Health & Safety and CSCS card course, helping them gain qualifications vital to a construction workplace.

The academy is a primary and secondary alternative provision academy situated in Westminster which supports young people who have faced challenges learning in mainstream school settings. The construction industry has fantastic pathways available for young people who feel uninspired by traditional further education routes into a career. On the course, young people interested in construction careers build...

Nathan enrolled on our long-term mentoring programme at New City College, funded by Sir John Cass, in September of 2019.

He was studying a Level 1 in Carpentry but found traditional classroom environments frustrating and was keen to enter the working world and get some hands on experience. Although interested in a career in construction, he was unsure of how to achieve his goals.

Unfortunately, due to the challenges that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to suspend face-to-face delivery with Nathan soon after the programme started. However, we were determined not to...

The Skills Bus has been at Beachcroft AP Academy helping Year 10 and 11 students explore the world of construction and get them working together as a team.

Participants spent the day building a new wooden bench for their school from scratch! Despite the grey and damp weather, the students remained in high spirits as they learnt how to measure, saw and assemble the various parts of the bench.

It was fantastic to see the students so engaged with the project and so eager to get stuck into the practical tasks – whether it be drilling in bolts or even cleaning the bus! For many of...

As part of our Building Brighter Futures programme, funded by Southwark Council’s Positive Futures fund, a group of Year 8 and 9 students from Compass School and Bacon’s College got an insight into what it’s really like to work on a construction project when they visited the site of local construction company Travis Perkins.

The programme sees students take part in a range of both online and face-to-face sessions that introduce them to a wide range of construction careers, inspiring them to see how their classroom learning can be applied to the workplace. Sessions are...

It has been just over a week since I began my internship at Construction Youth Trust and I couldn’t be happier to get started working here.

My internship is part of the Jack Petchey Internship Programme; an amazing scheme which aims to give young people across London and Essex the opportunity to kick-start their career in the charity sector. Over the course of the internship, I will also benefit from a training bursary and workshops to aid in career development. Now in its third year, the programme funds year-long internships for 40 young people at 40 youth organisations and I feel...

Young people on our Future Property School programme, delivered in partnership with Landsec, pitched their own ideas for Landsec’s 21 Moorfields site to a panel of industry professionals from Landsec and David Miller Architects!

Over 12 weeks, the programme participants have gained a well-rounded insight into the many disciplines and careers that make up the construction and built environment sector and how these roles come together practically for a construction project. The professional pitches are the culmination of the programme, with students splitting into 2 teams and applying...

Xhesika attended one of our world-of-work programmes, hosted by Transport for London, in July 2019.

Before she met the Trust Xhesika had been studying Art and Design for her A-Levels and she had an interest in Architecture, but also shared many of the common misconceptions surrounding the construction industry as a male-dominated space that did not have room for someone like her.

Our world-of-work programmes give young people an immersive, employer-led experience of a construction workplace. Over 3 days, Xhesika and her peers were split into teams and explored a variety of roles...