This month we were absolutely delighted to host the launch of the Future Makers, Creators, Designers and Builders Mentoring Programme designed to support people who may be interested in exploring or pursuing careers working in the built environment. This might include designers, architects, surveyors, structural engineers, builders, and construction workers.
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- Industry practitioners providing guidance
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- The launch was held in Chesterfield Colleges new digital technology building
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- Students from St Marys
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- Students from Chesterfield College
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- Whittam Cox Architects providing a talk
The programme, now launched to schools across North Derbyshire, seeks 15 mentees who may be interested in exploring or pursuing careers working in the built environment and partners them up with role models from industry who will work with them to build confidence, knowledge, and career prospects. Over a 6-month period, mentors will receive relevant training which will help them work with their mentee on a bespoke project relevant to their mentors business and/or industry. The programme will finish with a showcase event on 8th July where students will present their projects and celebrate their achievements.
The D2N2 Careers Hub, Led by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and funded by the Careers & Enterprise Company, have expanded the innovative mentoring programme to support more young people across North Derbyshire, in partnership with The Work-Wise Foundation. The launch follows a successful pilot in 2021, initiated by leaders from Chesterfield’s Property and Construction Forum, in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council and D2N2 Careers Hub.
The pilot, which ran from March 2021 to January 2022 and was led by The Work-wise Foundation, saw female students from local Careers Hub schools and colleges; St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Chesterfield College, Whittington Green School, Springwell Community College and Brookfield Community School partnered with mentors from Whittam Cox Architects, Woodhead Group and Chesterfield Borough Council. As part of this, students took part in construction themed activity days at CBE+ in Chesterfield and had regular meetings with their mentors to introduce them to the world of work and enthuse them about a career in the industry. In January, The Work-wise Foundation visited the students in their schools/colleges with D2N2 Careers Hub and their mentors to award them with certificates to celebrate their achievements.
Hannah Higley, Hub Coordinator for the Derbyshire North Careers Hub at D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership said, “It has been fantastic to see this programme develop over the last year. D2N2 Careers Hub and our local steering group are proud to fund the expansion of this successful model, in partnership with the Careers & Enterprise Company cornerstone employers in D2N2, to support more young people in exploring what their next best step might be”
Cllr Amanda Serjeant, Deputy Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said, “I am really pleased to see the continuation of this project. Improving the skills and work readiness of people in Chesterfield is our top priority because it will help ensure our ambition to create a thriving borough.
This programme is a great example of how partnership working can strengthen the links between education and business and help ensure that more school leavers are developing the skills they need to enter the workplace. I am especially excited to see programmes that inspire with young women in sectors where they are underrepresented is key to ensuring success. Women currently make up around 14% of professional roles within the construction industry, a number which we hope is set to rise with more and more women choosing construction jobs as a result of programmes like this.”
Gavin Varley, Director of Engineering and Construction at Chesterfield College adds, “We are very proud to host the first Future Makers event here at the college. It means a great deal to us to ensure we champion opportunities for women into non-traditional careers. The project will help us in promoting many different sector areas and helping employers to highlight the great careers they have available within industry. We are very much committed to the mentoring programme and have already had a fantastic response from our female learners especially in construction, who will be mentored and guided by our female professional construction tutors, Ellie Bennett and Debbie Heath. We plan to run the project until the summer celebration event and then continue driving this forward for many years to come.”