News & events

In a massive session, an entire Year 8 group gave their ideas on how we can tackle the gender gap in industry.

This month, as part of the L&Q Learning to Succeed programme , we delivered our Not Just for the Boys session at Willowfield School to the entirety of their Year 8 cohort, supported by a group of female industry professionals

Recent statistics by GMB Union have shown that only a shocking one in eight construction workers are women. At Construction Youth Trust we are passionate about creating opportunities for young people facing the biggest career barriers.

“You’ve got to be able to see it to want to be it! Seeing somebody doing a job that you might not have...

Case study: Nawaal

Two years after attending a Budding Brunels course, Nawaal is now completing a Civil Engineering apprenticeship with Tideway East and she shares with us her first steps into construction

Budding Brunels

We first met Nawaal back in 2015 when she attended a Budding Brunels course, delivered in partnership with Vinci and Taylor Woodrow.

Nawaal already had an interest in engineering, so when she got the chance, she decided to attend our course to further her knowledge of the industry and the jobs within it. The course helped Nawaal understand what...

Another successful tradeswomen’s taster session in London

Last week we hosted a free workshop with Mears to inspire more women into the trades

On Friday 19th May, 15 women from London attended a free ‘trade’ taster workshop focused on Repairs & Maintenance and organised by Mears Group, the leading provider of maintenance services to social housing, working in partnership with Construction Youth Trust.

After the success of the first five workshops in Nottingham, Cardiff, London, Canterbury, and Manchester a second London Taster Day was held at the Construction Youth Trust Training Centre in Bermondsey last week.

The...

Piece in the Guardian from a Budding Brunels student

One of our brilliant Budding Brunels students, Tayo, wrote an excellent piece for the Guardian about her thoughts on being a female engineer and her experiences on the Budding Brunels Rail course.

You can read the original here .

As a female engineer, I aim to design rockets. I want other girls to be equally ambitious. Being the only girl to do an engineering diploma in my school year group has not stood in the way of my ambition to design aeroplanes or work at Nasa.

Each time I tell a friend that I’m studying engineering because I want to design aeroplanes, I get...

Case Study: Ashnee

Ashnee recently completed a 1 week architectural work experience placement at Squire & Partners after completing the Budding Brunels programme.

We met Ashnee when she participated in the Budding Brunels course with British Land at Clarges in January 2017. She is currently 17 and in lower sixth form studying for her International Baccalaureate.

After excelling on the Budding Brunels programme, she was offered a 1-week work experience placement with Squire and Partners over the Easter holidays. Squire and Partners is an award-winning architectural practice which has been...

Celebrating the ‘Budding Brunels Rail’ Project

This week Construction Youth Trust invited students, teachers and industry partners to the London Transport Museum to celebrate our successful ‘Budding Brunels Rail’ Project

The programme was developed as a bespoke Budding Brunels project with a specific focus on the rail industry - to inform and inspire young people aged 16-19 to consider professional careers within the construction and rail industries and to support the Trust’s focus on building a more diverse workforce.

Each 3-day workshop was supported by construction professionals who helped inform students...

Guest Blog from Victoria Brambini at Scape Procure

Women: the key to unlocking construction resources post-Brexit

This week we have a guest blog post from Victoria Brambini, Managing Director at Scape Procure.

Scape Group have been great supporters of the Trust over the past 12 months, specifically with the #notjustforboys campaign. Last year they supported the Trust by sponsoring the #notjustforboys: Women in Construction report with the Smith Institute, and Victoria Brambini was one of our expert panel at the #notjustforboys break-out session at the Construction Industry Summit.

In the following piece, Victoria gives her...

Another successful tradeswomen’s taster session at the BeChange Centre in Canterbury

Construction Youth Trust, in partnership with Mears and CITB, hosted a building maintenance and repairs maintenance session for 9 local women.

Last week we welcomed nine women to a taster session at the BeChange Centre in Aylesham, Canterbury. The women arrived from all over Canterbury including Dover, Folkestone and Aylesham village itself.

The series of workshops around the UK aims to provide a practical and inspiring learning experience for women who wish to ‘have a go’ at a trade before deciding on whether to pursue a career in building maintenance.

The...

A Fond Farewell to Christine Townley

After over 10 years leading the Trust, Christine is moving on.

It goes without saying that Christine Townley has made an enormous contribution to the construction industry and the wider community. After 12 years at the Trust, ten as Executive Director, she has steered the organisation from relative obscurity to one of the leading charities in the construction sector. Her passion for providing young people with the best possible chances in life has helped the Trust pioneer best practice in connecting the construction industry with its local community and with young people, in particular. As...

International Womens Day: Guest Blog post from Karina Williams

The Joy of Placemaking By Karina Williams, Sustainability Manager at British Land

Recently, a group of students visiting our Clarges development asked about life as a woman in the construction industry. For me, the answer is that I love my job! I enjoy the variety it involves and, even though construction is quite male dominated, it offers great opportunities for everyone, female or male.

Here are my top things about life in construction:

Watching a building rise out of the ground – it’s inspiring. I feel proud when I see buildings developed by British Land, knowing...

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