The West Midlands Interchange is set to create 8,500 jobs over the next 15 years. Helping to boost growth and employment opportunities for people living in South Staffordshire, the Black Country, the West Midlands, and other surrounding areas.

As part  of this long-term goal, the project team has already spent over 60 hours delivering educational sessions to the next generation of workers. Bringing awareness to the variety of different careers students can consider within the construction industry.

During a recent trip to Norton Canes High School our team spent the day with year 7 and 8 students showcasing the work taking place at The West Midlands Interchange. We were able to cover a multitude of different career pathways, including the options available to them on degrees and apprenticeships at the different colleges in the area. The day was followed by a hands-on session that required students to work together and follow a brief to build a bridge to a certain length, sustain a certain weight and built to budget.

“It was good to do something different in school and have the opportunity for the students to build their teamwork and organisational skills.  A number of students have said how much they enjoyed the day, and the schools STEM club has recruited some new members too.  It’s important for our students to experience days like this so that they can learn about the wealth of opportunities available to them after leaving school and also link it to the relevance of what they’re learning in school too.  I hope that we can establish the day as an annual event for our students and look forward to any further collaboration we can set up.’” Ian Windsor – Norton Caines High School   

In March we celebrated World Book Day by donating over 70 “when I grow up” books to three local primary schools. The story follows twins Harry and Amy who begin to consider different engineering roles as part of their school careers day competition. Rich Smith, the author, wrote the book to address the “skills shortage growing in construction, as well as the challenges in recruiting young, diverse talent.” St Mary and St Chad year 1 teacher Mrs Lloyd told us how the books will “promote a good discussion about what jobs the children would like to do in the future”.

First-hand experience on site is an exciting place to start your career and with 71 weeks of apprenticeships delivered already, and engagement with our local schools and colleges continuing. we look forward to sharing our plans with you in future newsletters and on our Facebook page.

If you would like to find out more then please:

Email: contactus@communityrelations.co.uk

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