In collaboration with Scape Group and Learn Live, Balfour Beatty hosted the careers-focused event at Scarborough College in North Yorkshire, broadcasting the virtual event to over 42,000 young people.
The panel included Balfour Beatty professionals, apprentices and graduates sharing insights into the industry and discussing the exciting developments happening within the construction industry.
The live event focused on the coastal protection works that Balfour Beatty is currently delivering on behalf of Scarborough Borough Council to stabilise the cliffs behind Scarborough's historic Spa building, showcasing how drone technology was used to support the scheme and the wider industry in 2019.
The Construction LIVE initiative also provides a pathway to the construction industry through work placements, site tours, classroom visits and an innovative chat facility, which allows young people across the UK to speak to Balfour Beatty's cohort of experts, apprentices and graduates at any time.
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Thomas Edgcumbe, Balfour Beatty Managing Director for its North and Midlands regional business, said: "Construction LIVE is a fantastic initiative which provides insight into our industry for young people who may not otherwise have considered a career in this area.
"We are deeply committed to closing the skills gap, and through broadcasts like this, we are able to tackle this industry-wide issue by engaging with a wide audience of schools and colleges, while showing them what fantastic long-term opportunities derive from a career in construction."
Mark Robinson, Scape Group Chief Executive said: "Scape is proud to be working in partnership with Balfour Beatty and Learn Live to inspire the next generation and ensure that our future workforce is full of talented, vibrant individuals who will drive forward the innovation we need to support the UK's construction needs.
"Initiatives such as Construction LIVE provide young people across the country with an unrivalled insight into the world of construction and play a vital part in improving the image of career in construction."
Lisa Jacklin, Careers Leader at one of the schools involved, South Axholme Academy, said: "Students at South Axholme Academy have had the most amazing experience today as part of the Construction Live event, facilitated by Learn Live.
"As Careers Leader, I am always looking for innovative ways to challenge and engage learners about their futures and get them to consider the career path they may want to follow. Students really loved the activity today and were totally engrossed in their questioning of panelists."
After the event, one student commented: "That was brilliant. I now know what I want to do when I leave school."
Following the Construction LIVE event, Balfour Beatty's Scarborough cliff stabilisation project received a third Considerate Constructors point for innovation and original thinking, having been award the first in 2015 and the second in 2016.
The event further supports Balfour Beatty's commitment to The 5% Club, a UK employer-led initiative focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices and graduates into the workforce.
