I come from Newham, a borough which proudly boasts to be one the most diverse boroughs in London. However, there is also a not so pleasing statistic associated to this, Newham also sadly has the highest unemployment rate in London. Regardless, the industry – not limited to construction, but in general, is crying out for a diverse workforce, and in particular for a much more BAME and female orientated workforce.

Hence, Diversity Hut was set up as a social enterprise by myself, Usman Shah, an ex-Construction Youth Trust protégé, to help bridge the gap between the work...

At Construction Youth Trust we are delighted to have been chosen as a charity partner for advertising software provider Mediaocean , who will work with us to fundraise and raise awareness of our programmes and campaigns.

Kicking off the fundraising with a bang is a 355 mile cycle challenge from London to Dusseldorf. Taking place next month, the 8 cyclists taking part in this challenge (Craig Heron, Thomas Kluth, Todd Rankin, Christian Maschke, Paul Mahon, Lenny Oseni, Godwin Joseph and Michael Sugrue) have been training hard to prepare themselves both physically and mentally for this...

This week Construction Youth Trust invited students, teachers and industry partners to the London Transport Museum to celebrate our successful ‘Budding Brunels Rail’ Project

The programme was developed as a bespoke Budding Brunels project with a specific focus on the rail industry - to inform and inspire young people aged 16-19 to consider professional careers within the construction and rail industries and to support the Trust’s focus on building a more diverse workforce.

Each 3-day workshop was supported by construction professionals who helped inform students...

Women: the key to unlocking construction resources post-Brexit

This week we have a guest blog post from Victoria Brambini, Managing Director at Scape Procure.

Scape Group have been great supporters of the Trust over the past 12 months, specifically with the #notjustforboys campaign. Last year they supported the Trust by sponsoring the #notjustforboys: Women in Construction report with the Smith Institute, and Victoria Brambini was one of our expert panel at the #notjustforboys break-out session at the Construction Industry Summit.

In the following piece, Victoria...

After over 10 years leading the Trust, Christine is moving on.

It goes without saying that Christine Townley has made an enormous contribution to the construction industry and the wider community. After 12 years at the Trust, ten as Executive Director, she has steered the organisation from relative obscurity to one of the leading charities in the construction sector. Her passion for providing young people with the best possible chances in life has helped the Trust pioneer best practice in connecting the construction industry with its local community and with young people, in...

Last week 8build spent the day fundraising in their head office and sites across the UK, raising valuable money for the Trust.

Employees took part in the ‘8build Bake Off and Builder’s Tea’ by swapping cement mixers for food mixers! Staff hosted bake sales for their fellow colleagues offering sweet and savoury treats made at home to be enjoyed along with a cup of tea or coffee and a welcome break from work. Colleagues were encouraged to get competitive, with attendees voting for their favourite bakes, and the most popular crowned Star Baker.

As Construction Youth...

We are very proud to announce that Construction Youth Trust has been selected as one of Mace Foundations strategic charity partners for the next 3 years.

Over the last four years the Mace Foundation has donated £1.6 million to over 200 charities and worthy causes. This is helping drive forward Mace’s ambition to make a real and sustainable difference to the lives of disadvantaged people and communities where Mace works.

The Mace Foundation 2016 Annual Review has now been published. Highlights of the report include £380,000 donated to charities, the results of...

Designing Buildings Wiki sat down with our Chief Executive, Carol Lynch to discuss the work and challenges facing Construction Youth Trust, from Brexit, to construction’s lack of appeal, and schools’ failure to understand non-academic routes.

Designing Buildings Wiki (DBW):

Could you tell us about your new Pledge a Placement initiative?

Carol Lynch (CL):

Construction Youth Trust (CYT) is very much about connecting young people with employers. The construction industry still tends to recruit people firstly, who have experience, and secondly, by...

We are so excited and grateful to be charity partner again for this year's Construction Cup with IBI Group!

The Construction Cup, one of the industry’s most popular charity football tournaments last year celebrated its first ever event where equality was the goal. This year the event will once again be in support of Construction Youth Trust and our ongoing diversity campaign #notjustforboys.

Organised by global design and technology firm, IBI Group and headline sponsored by contractors, Wates Construction the event saw 32 teams unite together and raised over £5,600...

We are delighted to announce that Construction Youth Trust have been chosen as charity of the year for trade association Builders’ Conference , who will work with us to fundraise and raise awareness of our programmes and campaigns amongst their members.

With the huge skills gap facing the sector, set out so comprehensively in the Governments recent Farmer Review – ‘Modernise or die’ there is, more than ever before, a real need to encourage new talent to join the industry. Creating a more diverse sector is also important to attract young people, help them to...