A consortium consisting of Morgan Sindall Construction, Curtins, Faithful+Gould, Ryder Architecture and Regenda Group is collaborating with Agent Academy to create new employment opportunities for young people across Liverpool City Region
Agent Academy will work with the construction consortium to understand what can be done to encourage more young people to consider careers in construction.
During the three-month project a group of 12 young people will be challenged with finding solutions to the construction sector skills shortage. They will learn from experts in both built environment and marketing, engage in research with other young people from diverse social backgrounds and use the insights they gain to come up with answers to their unique challenge.
Every Agent Academy programme is underpinned with a client challenge enabling the young people to put their learning into practice. During this programme, the participants will meet with over 40 city leaders as well as hundreds of other young people to bring about their client recommendations.
Sue Patterson, senior business development manager at Morgan Sindall Construction in the North West, said: “We regularly visit local schools and run jobs fairs, and often find that many young people are completely unaware of the great variety of career opportunities available in the sector. As an industry, it’s our responsibility to demonstrate the wide variety of fulfilling roles that construction has to offer.
“In order to make construction more sustainable for the future and to boost employment opportunities in the communities in which we work, it’s critical that we demonstrate the great number of careers available to all young people and attract a more diverse workforce into the sector.
“The work we are undertaking with Agent Academy enables us to take a completely fresh approach to this complex issue by having young people engage with their peers to consider solutions on how to best promote the many fantastic careers that our industry has to offer.”
Zoe Wallace, director at Agent Academy, said: “Agent Academy has a track record tackling the talent challenges faced by the creative and digital industry by giving young people the opportunity to upskill and then kick-start their careers. We hope that this experience together with the insight from our students will give a fresh perspective to how the construction sector can tackle talent issues.
“The young people on this programme will come up with the answers that many construction industry businesses are looking for. 95% of the young people we work with gain full-time industry employment after completing the programme so it’s a win-win for everyone involved.
“We have a lot to look forward to, despite the skills challenges faced by our region’s employers there are so many opportunities and by coming up with new ways to engage the regions young people and motivate them we can make sure they are ready to take on the careers of the future.”
