Educate, Inspire and Empower
Educate, Inspire and Empower
Constructing Change has welcomed the Government’s plans to give technical education equal status with academic pathways and strengthen links between schools and employers, saying the proposals reflect the approach it has championed since its launch.
The social enterprise, which connects schools with employers across the construction, infrastructure and flood and coastal erosion risk management sectors (FCERM), believes earlier employer engagement is key to helping young people make informed decisions about their future careers.
The reforms, announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, will enable pupils in England to combine core subjects with technical education linked to local employer demand from 2028, while encouraging schools to work more closely with businesses to create clearer pathways into employment.
Elizabeth Griffin-Bennett, Founder and CEO of Constructing Change, said: “The best careers advice isn’t a leaflet – it’s meeting the people doing the job. For years we’ve talked about the skills shortage facing construction however the solution isn’t simply encouraging more young people into these industries after they’ve left school. Instead, we must introduce them to the opportunities while they’re still deciding what their future could look like.
“If young people have never seen the breadth of careers that are available, how can we expect them to aspire to them? That’s exactly why I founded Constructing Change. Every time we take students onto a live construction site, introduce them to engineers, quantity surveyors, environmental specialists or project managers, we see their understanding and appetites change. Careers suddenly become real and students begin to see themselves doing jobs they never knew existed.”
Constructing Change is a social enterprise that brings together employers from the construction, infrastructure and flood and coastal erosion risk management sectors with schools across the UK to provide meaningful workplace experiences, site visits and employer engagement activities before students make their post-16 education and career decisions.
Its programmes help schools deliver Gatsby Benchmarks for work experience opportunities, while supporting employers to inspire future talent, address long-term skills shortages and improve access to careers for young people from all backgrounds.
Continues Elizabeth: “We work with schools across the country to ensure young people from every background – including those from more deprived communities who may have fewer industry connections -can experience the workplace and make informed choices about their futures.
“Today’s announcement reflects the direction many employers have been calling for. Putting technical pathways on an equal footing with academic ones is an important step however those pathways will only succeed if employers play an active role in inspiring young people and opening doors to meaningful workplace experiences.”
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