There were audible gasps...

Open Doors is one of my favourite weeks of the year (which is a good job as the amount of work put into running it by Team Build UK is a quite something!) and my visit in 2023 to HS2's site at Long Itchington reminded me of the impact we have as young people take their first step on the Journey from Education into Employment in our industry.

On a bright and breezy day a group of local college students sloped into the reception centre and chose their seats waiting for things to begin. A couple of the girls came over to the detailed diagram of the TBM asking casually what’s this all about then - experienced engineer and Senior Project Manager Doug Barnett took on the task of explaining how it all worked - in minutes the girls went from feigning interest to excitedly asking more questions which led onto what do you do, how much does your job pay and ended with one saying I want to be an engineer and the other saying I want to drive that machine!

A good start.

I looked at the rest of the group who seemed more interested in the biscuits and fact that they were not in college than anything else. I sat down next to a couple of lads slumped in their chairs with their hoods up and it transpired that for them this was a day out of college with a free lunch and they clearly weren’t expecting much apart from being talked at by yet more grown-ups telling them about their future.?They were all on a construction-related course but had never been on a live project and their expectations were low.?

I was up first - short and sweet (my presentation not me) my message was they were our future, we wanted them to come and work in our industry, we had jobs - all kinds of jobs - we paid well, and we really wanted them to get their initial qualifications and come and join us. A few perked up - employers wanted them, their college course led to an actual job and today they were going to see some action.

Then Doug stepped up and shared his career journey, working on major projects and overseas - he spoke with such sincerity for his work and how he felt that had contributed to society I found myself leaning forward wanting to hear more - I looked back around the room and oh my goodness almost every student was doing the same. Drawn in by Doug's clear passion for what he does, and how proud he was to build things that made a difference to the world, they had stopped fidgeting and were sitting upright and remained so as Neil Johnson the Delivery Director completed the presentations.

Well we had certainly raised expectations and hands shot up with a range of questions from how did you get into the industry, what’s been your best experience, to how does it feel to be a girl in construction - a great insight to what college students really want to know as they look at what they do next.

We then went outside to the viewing platform which had an interactive model of the TBM which reinforced to our potential machine operator that it was the job for her and led to a raft of insightful and technical questions that reassured both the college lecturers and all of us that these young adults were listening and learning the right stuff.?But the best was yet to come, as we turned from the model there, in her full glory, was TBM Dorothy - there were audible gasps and a rush to the barrier to get a closer look.

The transformation from the shuffling group an hour earlier to the bright-eyed inquisitive students firing off questions to the HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd team is what Open Doors is all about - I overheard one of the boys I had spoken to earlier say “I was dreading my work experience next week - now I can’t wait”.

For their journey into construction to truly begin we need to do more than just tell young people about their career options - we need them to that experience that buzz.?“My classroom will be a different place” was the feedback from their lecturer “they get it now”. For many, choosing a career isn’t easy, we need something to ignite us to see that path and everyone in the industry has the opportunity during Open Doors Week 2024 to be a spark for someone.

Open Doors is an initiative by Build UK and will take place from 18 - 23 March 2024. To find out how to register an event, book a place, share our messages or add your support visit opendoors.construction

A huge thank you to #TeamBuildUK for all their hard work - whilst Open Doors is just one week it takes almost a full year of planning and organisation for our very small team (PM Tamsin Parkes , supported by David Bishop , Sam Sheppard and Jo Fautley with everyone else pitching in as required).

Thank you to our members that support us, everyone that participated, every company co-ordinator and of course the site teams that really do make the magic happen by encouraging their visitors to look at construction in a different way and inspire some of them to take the next step in their journey into construction.

We couldn’t run it without financial support from some of our partners CITB and Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) , The Careers & Enterprise Company , Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Skills Development Scotland , as well as Canary Wharf Group , Considerate Constructors Scheme , Go Construct , Kier Group , People's Partnership , Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland , Willmott Dixon , and Building Magazine .?Plus direct support from many others.

This year included a shiny new website which always sounds much easier to deliver than it is.?On the 24 March 2024 Team Build UK will be having a long lie down...

Suzannah Nichol MBE, Build UK Chief Executive