We are proud to have received an outstanding commitment certificate from Bradford College, recognising the support we have provided throughout 2024 and 2025. This includes hosting a T-Level student at our exciting project, The Bradford Arts Centre, enabling him to successfully complete his placement requirements

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting our students on their college journey and helping them to learn about industry and explore different careers within it.

Employer engagement opportunities and work placements play a crucial role in supporting our students to research their career options and make decisions about their future career paths.

The guidance and the knowledge that you and your colleagues have shared have been an integral part of their learning experience. As a token of our appreciation, we have enclosed a certificate to recognise your outstanding commitment to work placements and employer engagement. We sincerely look forward to working with you in the future.

Yours Faithfully, Nick Scaife – Head of Student Services

We were proud to sponsor the joinery apprentice award at York College’s construction awards ceremony on 17th June. It was fantastic to see the achievements of so many talented new individuals being celebrated.

We are excited to be supporting York College’s new initiative, the Brilliant Futures Pledge, which aims to bridge the gap between further education and employment by focusing on eight 8 key employability skills.

Earlier this year, we took part in a workshop where we endorsed several of these skills and explored ways to collaborate with the college in offering students meaningful, real-world experiences.

At the College’s Parent and Carers event in September, we delivered a presentation on one of these essential skills - dependability. We highlighted its importance in the workplace and shared practical ways students can begin building and showcasing this attribute through current opportunities and involvement

During the works at Whitby Old Town Hall, we’ve taken the opportunity to work with Whitby High School to support student engagement and career development.

In June, we presented at their careers evening to chat about how apprenticeships can be a fantastic stepping stone to long-term success. This was followed by a lively ‘marketplace’ style event, where we spoke with parents and students interested in both trade and higher-level apprenticeship pathways.

For those who showed a real interest in construction, we arranged a relaxed breakfast meeting at the school.

Over 30 enthusiastic students from Year 9 and 10 came along, and we had some great conversations about different trades, what qualifications are needed, and why soft skills such as resilience, attitude and communication really matter.

Following this, we welcomed the students to Whitby Old Town Hall for a behind-the-scenes site visit. They met the site manager and discovered how much goes into running a construction project – even one that looks small from the outside! From coordinating multiple trades and materials to working with architects and consultants, they saw the teamwork and planning involved. They also learned about the unique challenges of working on a heritage site and the critical importance of health and safety.

We are delighted to be working with Danesgate School through the Construction Connect Partnership.

Supporting local schools and colleges is key to our commitment to inspire the next generation, and Construction Connect has provided a fantastic platform to do just that.

On 4th March, we attended Danesgate’s careers event and had a brilliant time speaking with enthusiastic KS4 students about the wide range of careers available in the construction industry. We also shared example CVs and cover letters to help them take their first steps toward future opportunities.

Then, on 19th March, we met with four groups of KS3 students to explore the diverse roles within construction. Each session ended on a high, undertaking the giant tetrahedron challenge in the glorious sunshine. The students tackled the challenge with energy, displaying fantastic teamwork and discovering their individual strengths.

Our partnership with Danesgate will continue into 2026, and we are excited about collaborating with them on more events and shared experiences.

We are proud supporters of Yorkshire Construction Skills Partnership, an industry-led partnership focused on:

• Building a skilled workforce to deliver construction projects across York
• Connecting individuals with quality local employment opportunities
• Helping York’s construction and development sector grow in collaboration with the city’s residents

At the beginning of 2025, we were part of a five-month collaborative initiative alongside the City of York Council (CYC), CHY and other local construction firms. The goal was to maximise local opportunities, support residents into the industry and up-skill those already working in construction.

The results speak for themselves:

• 205 people received support to move into employment
• 154 people already in work engaged with the skills system
• 85 people gained support to obtain a vocational licence.

If this can be achieved in just 5 months, we are really excited to see what more we can accomplish together over the next few years!

We had a great time at the York Barbican Apprenticeship Fair on 11th March, teaming up with Cameron Sailsbury from CHY Consultancy and Tom Davitt from Orchard Recruitment to chat with the numerous attendees. We shared CV templates, gave advice on careers in construction and offered tips on finding apprenticeships.

One particularly memorable interaction was with a young man aspiring to become a plumber. After the event, we helped him refine his CV, conducted mock interviews and pointed him in the direction of potential employers. As a result, he successfully secured a plumbing apprenticeship, which he has now started.

We really can't thank you enough! Your input was priceless! If there were more like you, I'm pretty sure many more youths would be going into exam season with a much brighter outlook for their future... Mum of the now apprentice.

Stories like this are exactly why we love what we do!