Gleeds recently announced that this year’s Gleeds Global Challenge will focus on addressing the growing skills shortage within the construction industry. Gleeds has teamed up with educational charity, The Transformation Trust, on an initiative to attract more young people to the sector.

Here, Amy Leonard – Chief Executive of the Transformation Trust, tells us a bit about the work the charity does and why this year’s Gleeds Global Challenge is a project they are excited to be part of.

Q. Tell us about Transformation Trust and the work that your charity does?

The Transformation Trust is all about providing young people with opportunities that inspire and engage – particularly in context of their future career paths. We focus solely on schools in areas of high socio-economic deprivation and each year we work with around 80,000 young people. Everything we do is about helping young people discover their talents and having that ‘lightbulb’ moment, when they realise what they are capable of.

Q. Why did you decide to partner with Gleeds for this year’s Gleeds Global Challenge?

We’ve worked with Gleeds on a number of projects is the past, and we were really excited to be asked to create a compelling programme for secondary school students that would give an insight into the work that Gleeds does, as well as providing an opportunity for skills-based volunteering for Gleeds’ colleagues.

Q. Gleeds’ initiative targets children between the ages of 11 – 14. Why is it important to engage with children at a young age and get them thinking about their future career paths?

It’s really important to start engaging with school students sooner rather than later. Our programmes can help inform decisions for GCSE and Sixth Form options.

Q. What impact do you think Gleeds’ national school workshop and competition will have on the children taking part?

The programme will give students a real insight into the type of work Gleeds do as a business, as well as bringing a career in the built environment to life, highlighting the wealth of opportunities available. Ultimately, we want the students to come away from the workshop buzzing about a possible future career path in construction.

Auteur
Amy Leonard

Amy Leonard
CEO, The Transformation Trust