PRESS RELEASE: Construction Businesses Urged To Participate In Research Into Industry Relationship With Schools

• CITB research states that only 10% of construction employers engage with schools, though this research is pre-COVID
• Construction remains an unpopular career choice for young people, with only 3% of young adults expressing interest according to CFMA*
• Construction businesses are struggling to recruit in the wake of Brexit and COVID
• There is currently no centralised work or metrics to identify clear and measurable progress in construction outreach

LONDON, UK: Built Environment Skills in Schools (BESS) today announced the launch of their construction industry research into schools engagement, in partnership with UK Construction Week. Every business in UK construction is invited to anonymously answer 10 survey questions, taking less than three minutes.

The research, open to everyone in the industry, is entitled “Moving the Needle on Construction Careers Support to Schools: what’s stopping us?”, and data collected will be used to create best practice guidance and a repository of schools engagement tools and case studies for industry to easily adopt and adapt.

Kathryn Lennon-Johnson, founder of BESS, said, “We don’t need to keep reinventing the wheel, but we do need consistency and action as a sector. Students can’t be what they don’t see, and so very few ever hear consistently about the potential of the built environment to change lives. I didn’t want to run another piece of research that attempts to make teachers and pupils wrong - I want to understand exactly what the industry is doing, so we can identify gaps and create practical solutions that fit into everyone’s lives.”

Nathan Garnett, Event Director of UK Construction Week, said, “Our new May event at Excel London will feature a careers fair, where students and educators can network with employers and discover industry innovations. This BESS research will help to provide quantifiable metrics around the construction sector’s support of schools, which is always the crucial basis for any improvement plan.We encourage everyone to participate”

Construction businesses are invited to answer 10 questions (less than three minutes) by following this SurveyMonkey link:

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Notes for editors

UK Construction Week will be at Excel London from 3-5 May.

Built Environment Skills in Schools provides a central point for industry and educators to share insights, offer support and develop resources for students. The social network, BESSconnect, has dozens of live opportunities and is free to construction - bessconnect.beskillsinschools.co.uk?

*CFMA is the Construction Financial Management Association