In recent years, the UK construction industry has seen a marked decline in the number of its workers. Seasoned construction employees are retiring (often referred to as the “silver tsunami” in the US), and there currently aren’t enough young people choosing to enter the industry to replace them. Coupled with the recent loss of approximately 43% of EU workers, the industry desperately needs new talent to fill the vacancies on site.
Get Into the Schools
Headquartered in London, Gement works closely with more than 30 UK universities to promote career opportunities in the construction and building materials industries. In support of more than 500,000 students, Gement teams with educational careers departments to pitch construction directly to their students. All programs are not-for-profit enterprises and completely free to participants.
Dispel the Myths
Gement’s programs fit into two general categories. The Experience packages introduce people to the industry, while Break-Out packages are designed to facilitate work placements. The first part of the Experience package consists of myth-dispelling, interactive workshops that demonstrate and present the variety of construction roles in an easily digestible format. Students learn that construction isn’t just about men in hard hats, but is in fact a rich and varied industry that anyone can be a part of with the right mindset.
Show the Operations
Interactive workshops are augmented by follow-up experiences called Insight Days. These sessions are offered in collaboration with industry partners and consist of a whole day in which participants get a first-hand experience of working a role in construction. Typically, Insight Days include guided tours of offices, manufacturing sites and different operational departments; presentations by industry professionals about their careers, and opportunities for participants to try out certain job roles first-hand.
Help them Try the Job
Gement’s Break-Out packages provide real working experience for students that want to do more beyond the introductory workshops and Insight Days. Participants can actually enter the industry via summer internships, year-in-industry work placements, and permanent graduate employment.
If you work for a construction company and would like to get involved in our programs, please visit https://gement.co.uk/contact-us/
Gement is always open to creating new working relationships with partners from all sectors of the industry.