As part of the great work carried out by our Contractor Connection Foundation, Raj Sahota, membership services manager, and Matt Lander, continuous improvement manager, recently attended a ‘Building Pathways’ event in London, hosted by Youthbuild UK.
Youthbuild was welcomed into the Contractor Connection Foundation in November 2021, and we’re proud to support this amazing construction sector charity that works to alleviate poverty, relieve unemployment and advance the life of young people by providing advice, support and education in construction skills.
With an over 200,000 labour shortfall in the construction sector workforce and almost one million young people not in education, employment, or training in England, Youthbuild UK knows that much needs to be done to support this potent yet untapped demographic within our young people.
This event examined how to unlock the potential of disengaged, disaffected young people in support of filling the construction industry skills gap by providing ‘Pathways’ to create opportunities and generate alternative means for disaffected or disadvantaged young people to train for employment opportunities in the construction industry.
On the day, attendees heard from industry representatives including the NHBC, The Skills Centre and Lee Marley Brickwork as well as a “My Story” talk from Kye Belmont, winner of Youthbuild’s 2022 Young Builder Of The Year Award.
Lisa Bartlett, president, UK & Ireland, says
“The UK construction industry is facing a massive skills shortage – the worst since 1998. For me, the superb and much-needed support offered by Youthbuild UK is a key component of the Contractor Connection Foundation and I’m beyond pleased that Raj and Matt found the time to attend the event and to reinforce Crawford’s very real commitment to giving back to the communities it serves.”
Find out more about Youthbuild for yourself.
