Our school and college programmes inspire young people about modern career options, widen their horizons and challenge limiting career stereotypes, in order to prepare students to make career choices well matched to their interests and abilities. 


We work with each individual school and college to design an exciting programme of employer engagement that can help them meet the Gatsby benchmarks and raise awareness of the fantastic career opportunities in the construction and built environment sector.   

We deliberately target schools and colleges with high numbers of disadvantaged pupils in our hub areas. Our aim is to ensure local schools, colleges and young people do not miss out on the career, training and employment opportunities created by exciting developments in their own neighbourhoods.  

From curriculum linked sessions to behind-the-scenes site and workplace visits, our work is employer-led and supported by industry volunteers lending their passion and knowledge to enhance the students’ experience. 


Transitions programmes and targeted support  

We offer our immersive Transition Programmes to young people approaching key transition points in their education/career journey – for example 15-16 years olds approaching their GCSEs, young people completing Further Education courses or 6th Form students.  

Diversity and social mobility are at the heart of our work. Our programmes give young people direct experience of the world of work, combined with employer-led employability support and skills building in order to level the playing field for young people facing disadvantage.  

Through our targeted support programmes, we work collaboratively with schools, colleges and students to develop individual action plans designed to help them identify their next best step and develop the skills to enable them to reach their goals.  

We work with our school and college partners to encourage participation from young people who are most likely to miss out on opportunities and/or who are typically underrepresented.  


Where we work

The Trust has identified a number of place-based hubs in which we work. The hubs have been selected based on the extent to which the area is affected by multiple deprivation, such as high levels of unemployment or in-work poverty, low skills, youth unemployment etc, and whether the built environment sector has a long-term demand for skills in the area over a minimum 10 year period.

Current hubs:

  • Hammersmith & Fulham
  • Kensington & Chelsea
  • Westminster
  • Barking & Dagenham
  • Lambeth
  • Southwark
  • Ebbsfleet
  • Tower Hamlets
  • Lewisham

If you work in a school or college within one of our hubs and would like to discuss our schools and colleges work please get in touch.

Case Study

  • Taiwo

    Project Engineer

    Taiwo was directed towards our Pathways to Professional Careers Programme as she knew she wanted to pursue a career in either the construction and built environment sector, or mechanical engineering but wasn’t sure which pathway would best suit her.

    Working with her Construction Youth Trust coach throughout the programme allowed her to explore different higher-level degree apprenticeship opportunities as an alternative to university. She also developed her confidence in talking to the industry professionals who supported the programme sessions she participated in.

    Alongside participating in the Pathways to Professional Careers programme, Taiwo also took part in a Building Future Skills programme, something that she found really useful as she was able to develop her CV and attend mock interviews. As a result of this, she also secured a work experience placement with a construction company where she got to experience the inner workings of the company and discover more about the industry.

    Taiwo also took it upon herself to explore a variety of career pathways, such as attending a biomedical summer school; however, she didn’t enjoy this as much as the experiences she’d had on our programme and in the construction and built environment sector. Through this combination of experiences, Taiwo decided that a higher-level degree apprenticeship was the right path to follow.  

    After attending a Live Vacancy Day with Skanska, where she had the opportunity to learn about the organisation and hear former Construction Youth Trust alumni now working as apprentices speak, we are thrilled to announce that Taiwo has been offered a higher-level degree apprenticeship as a project engineer!

    We wish her the best of luck on her journey!

    “I came into year 12 knowing I wanted to do engineering but didn’t know which kind as there are so many different types. I was leaning towards mechanical and was told by my teacher about a CYT programme. I hadn’t really considered construction beforehand but was getting really interested in it through the experience I gained from the CYT programme.

    I always imagined myself going to university and now I’m doing an apprenticeship in an industry I enjoy and am really excited about!” – Taiwo