As part of Broadgate Future Talent – a collaborative partnership between Construction Youth Trust (CYT), British Land and Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) – sixteen eager Year 12 students (aged 16 to 17) currently on CYT’s Pathways to Professional Careers programmes had the opportunity to attend an exciting Apprentice Networking event at Broadgate partner, Gardiner and Theobald (G&T)’s global headquarters in South Crescent, London.

These rare networking opportunities are designed to encourage diverse young Londoners to develop meaningful relationships with Broadgate employers offering incredible apprenticeships in the construction and built environment sector, as well as learn about different aspects of the industry and what different apprenticeship roles entail. The majority of students have previously connected with these employers through our Building Future Skills programme, and many are due to take part in work experience placements with them in roles such as quantity surveying, project management and architecture. We strongly encourage repeated employer engagement, recognising it increases young people’s chances of success when it comes to applying for apprenticeships in September 2025 as they are already familiar with the employers, company culture and workplace.

Alongside the range of incredible Broadgate employers who attended, young people also met CYT alumni and other current apprentices who shared their personal experiences and offered advice on finding and applying to apprenticeships. The young people were inspired and motivated by talking to relatable volunteers who were recently in the same position as them and gaining practical advice on navigating their next steps after school.

We received such positive feedback from the Year 12 students who attended. They described the event as a great opportunity to hear from professionals further along in their career journeys and to meet a range of employers in the industry. And there’s more to come. We have three work experience placements coming up with Broadgate employers – one with Phoenix focusing on both Computer-aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) and two with G&T in Quantity Surveying and Project Management.

We are so grateful to the incredible Broadgate employers and apprentices for all they do for our young people. This was a hugely successful event, and we look forward to the next one!

Construction Youth Trust works in local communities across London and North Kent, targeting areas with a high proportion of low-income households and significant construction and regeneration.

Broadgate Future Talent is a five-year collaborative project between Construction Youth Trust, British Land and Sir Robert McAlpine, as well as key Broadgate partners who are members of the advisory group. The aim of the project is to support diverse new entrants to the construction and built environment industry to access job and apprenticeship opportunities with employers working on the Broadgate development.