A total of 24 16 to 18-year-olds, from Brooks Sixth Form, Sydney Russell School, Barking and Dagenham College, Riverside School, and Ilford County High School took part in a four-day hands-on learning experience held at the housebuilder’s new site office next to its Fielders Quarter development.
Bellway London is in the process of delivering more than 2,300 homes at Barking Riverside, a major regeneration project transforming the former Barking Power Station site. A total of 20,000 homes are proposed for the wider site, with Bellway London set to build at least 4,000 of these if planning permission is secured for the remainder of the scheme.
The work experience academy ran from Monday 14 April to Thursday 17 April, with students given an overview of what each department in the company does, as well as a tour of the site and the showhome.
All managers outlined their roles and responsibilities before setting the students mini-tasks, while the technical team also provided a day of training.
The students all spent a day out on site, donning hard hats, boots and high-vis jackets to tackle bricklaying with GSQ Brickwork and planter building with TLF Services, and visiting the sales centre to undertake sales and marketing activities, led by Head of Sales Dominic Griffiths. The final day comprised a CV workshop and training on interview techniques.
Rolland Biro, a student from Barking and Dagenham College said: “I came on this work experience because I wanted to learn from people in the workplace that I can’t learn at school and have really enjoyed going on site.”
Another student from Barking and Dagenham College, Andile Vundla, said: “I’ve enjoyed it a lot and enjoyed the design task the most. After this work experience, I want to get into electrical engineering or electrical services so I’m going to start networking and get my LinkedIn sorted.”
Some of the sessions were attended by David Burns, Managing Director at Bellway London’s Barking Project Team, and Mabel Ogundayo, CEO of built environment and construction engagement experts Origin Consulting, who is working with the developer on a range of initiatives to help local people take advantage of the opportunities being created by the new neighbourhood.
David said: “The work experience academy was born out of Bellway’s ethos to reach out to local organisations within the areas where we build new homes. We contacted schools and colleges in the area and asked if they had any older students who had shown an interest in construction and who would benefit from this four-day learning experience.
“It was a pleasure to welcome all the students to Barking Riverside. They were fully engaged from day one and seemed to enjoy the visit and find it a valuable experience. Our team appreciated the chance to impart their knowledge about this site and the industry in general.
“We thought it was important to invite the students here because it gives them the rare opportunity to visit a real construction site, get hands-on experience, and form a better understanding of how we build homes and how a development is designed.
“We are always on the look-out for bright young talent to help drive the industry forward and hope this work experience academy will inspire some of these teenagers to choose a career in the construction business.”
For more information about Bellway London’s developments at Barking Riverside visit: www.bellwaylondon.co.uk/barking-riverside.