Construction Youth Trust is a social mobility charity dedicated to supporting young people into apprenticeships and other meaningful career pathways in the construction and built environment sector. By delivering one-to-one employability support and consistent engagement with our 250+ industry partners, we support young people to develop the skills, experience and relationships they need to achieve a rewarding career outcome. We prioritise working with disadvantaged and underrepresented young Londoners, aiming to ‘level the playing field’ for young people facing barriers to work.
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the construction and built environment sector as over three quarters (76%) of apprenticeships started in construction are in SMEs. Offering a range of rewarding career and progression opportunities, we have a network of SME partners across London through which we help young people to enter a career next step in the industry. An example of this is our partnership with a local SME - Lloret - through which we supported Zinat, a young woman on one of our coaching programmes, to enter an exciting apprenticeship in Smart Building Engineering. Zinat, 18, joined our Pathways to Professional Careers programme in Southwark during a period of uncertainty about her future. She had a strong interest in engineering but was unsure which area would best suit her skillset or how to access opportunities after leaving school.
We paired Zinat with one of our expert employability coaches to walk her through the different pathways in engineering – from civil to structural – helping her gain a better grasp of the different disciplines in the sector and discover which role would best compliment her skillset. This included facilitating a work experience placement with Robert Bird Group, a civil engineering company, for Zinat to gain first-hand experience of the industry. Throughout her placement, she met a variety of professionals in different roles, including those she had never even heard of such as geo-technical and design engineers. Zinat was also mentored by graduates at the company and given advice and insight into the day-to-day life of a young engineer.
“I met lots of industry professionals and learnt that there are so many different pathways into roles in the industry.”
Returning from her insightful placement, having learnt more about engineering and connected with inspiring professionals, Zinat decided this was the role to pursue. Through various workshops and 1-2-1 support, we helped Zinat to develop important employability skills such as CV-writing, interview techniques and application writing, all of which boosted her confidence and prepared her for navigating the recruitment process.
Her coach shared exciting apprenticeship opportunities with her, including one for a Smart Building Engineering Apprentice with Lloret (an SME specialising in building maintenance) which aligned closely with her interests. Using the skills and confidence developed on the programme, she successfully progressed through three interview stages and was offered the role! Four months on, Zinat is thriving in her apprenticeship and has told us that her company has been really helpful in making her feel settled in. Zinat’s story is a powerful example of how partnerships with SMEs provide real opportunities that help young people confidently take their first steps into the built environment sector.