Prospects in the City’s first Construction Walk took place in October, and was a hit with staff and students alike! The morning was based at Skanska’s site at Barts Hospital in the City. After the introduction to the day, Skanska’s site manager showed a short video about the site and its development. Students were given a presentation about the stages of discussion, planning, and implementation, as well as the jobs available to school leavers and graduates. After an in-depth Q&A session with the team, we put on our hard hats and left the training room.
Students were taken on a tour of the area around the Hospital site, which overlooks the famous Smithfield’s Market, as well as the site where the Great Fire of London stopped spreading, shrapnel marks from World War II, and the place where William Wallace was hung, drawn, and quartered. We then climbed to the roof of the construction site to get a bird’s eye view of what is currently being done.
Students and staff were able to meet undergrad students who were on work placement with Skanska as part of their Construction Management degrees, to discuss their routes into the work. From out vantage point we could see the new foundations being drilled into the ground, and the concrete setting to form the base of the new ground floor of the hospital.
After lunch students were taken to Wax Chandlers Hall for presentations on Architecture. A practising architect from global firm Sheppard Robson gave information about the training and degree courses, as well as showing images of how a basic sketch is turned into a planning application and then a development in reality.
Next an architect and lecturer from Ravensbourne College of Design spoke to the students about HE courses and impressing at interview. He gave them a great insight into the courses by showing the range of projects and students’ work completed throughout the three years.
All in all the students and staff benefitted from a combination of input about skills-based jobs and careers that require a degree, giving them plenty of information about their options for the future in Construction.”
“Great fun and really interesting” Year 10 student from The Business Academy, Bexley.
“Very well organised for school visits” Robert Deane, Careers Advisor from Quintin Kynaston, Chelsea.