Helping the next generation get a safe start into construction
Safety Leadership innovator, Active Training Team (ATT) has partnered with the Construction Youth Trust to support young people studying construction courses and those Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) into careers in the construction industry.
As part of its outreach work, ATT delivered a tailored version of its award-winning, multi-media interactive safety leadership programme, Your Choice, at Lewisham College in south London. Construction Youth Trust supports young people to overcome barriers and discover rewarding careers in the construction and built environment sector. Working in Lewisham with students enrolled on construction college courses and those who are currently unemployed, the Trust works with young people to design bespoke career plans that enable young people to take their next best step and ultimately make a successful transition into the world of work.
The Your Choice session was delivered to complement the young people’s Health and Safety learning as they work to achieve a Level 1 in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment and prepare to take their Construction Skills Certification Scheme
(CSCS) card test.
One of the young people who attended commented:
“It’s a more practical way of learning compared to just watching a video. It was very educational because it helped to ensure that young people who want to get into construction know that their health and safety should always be the number one priority”
In the Your Choice session participants experience the build-up to a major incident. The 16 and 17-year-olds were able to ask characters in the scenario questions and encouraged to suggest how they could behave differently to change the outcome of the story. The immersive experience is designed to engage participants at a sensory and emotional level, achieving a deeper level of learning, recall and impact on subsequent behaviour.
Another participant said: “At one point I thought it was actually real!”
ATT facilitator, Craig Dowding, who led the day, commented:
“Embedding a positive safety culture is crucial in the construction sector to ensure people keep safe and well. An important part of that is having the confidence to speak up and that can be challenging for young people, particularly for those who have faced disadvantage or discrimination.
The young people who took part made some really valuable contributions and were very engaged which was both encouraging and inspiring. We’re really looking forward to delivering more sessions later this year and supporting young people to take their first steps into the construction industry as confident safety leaders.”
Chief Executive of the Construction Youth Trust, Carol Lynch, commented:
“The session was a unique way of engaging young people and bringing to life that they are learning about health and safety in a construction environment. Our young people enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the actors in real time, and the live element really brought home the consequences of an incident at work and the importance of health and safety procedures.”
ATT’s special podcast episode explores how young people facing barriers to employment through disadvantage or discrimination can be best supported into work in construction with guests Carol Lynch, CEO of Construction Youth Trust, Lee Davies, Programme Director for HS2 at Costain Group, and some of Cementation Skanska’s youngest employees. Listen on our website or iTunes.
