On Friday 25th March 2022, fifteen Year 10 students visited Stamford New College for a Trades work experience day, delivered by South Lincolnshire Group Training Association, and in partnership with many local and regional employers from the construction industry. The day comprised of a variety of practical activities including bricklaying, carpentry, joinery, electrical, plumbing and site surveying and students had the opportunity to explore technical, professional and trade career opportunities throughout the day.

The fifteen Year 10 students, who had all chosen to take part in the work experience, felt excited about the day as it enabled them to think about life beyond school, apprenticeships and placements within the construction industry. Students were pleased to be given the opportunity to get involved in trades that they had not explored before, and were given further information about the routes into the industry and how this can be achieved.

With over 500 school pupils taking part from across the South Lincolnshire region, the fifteen students from Corby Business Academy were pleased to be the winners of the “School of Excellence” award by George Barnsdale & Son Ltd, for their hard work, effort and enthusiasm on the day, bringing back a gold trophy to the academy. Additionally, three students Mitchell Hackley, Corey Devine and Denis Leustean each won “Student Excellence” awards for their commitment, dedication and their success for the activities in which they completed.

Mrs Herbert, Head of Year 10 and Mr Wall, Assistant Principal, would like to thank all fifteen students; Reegan Fox, Kaiden Skewis, Corey Devine, Ronan Kelleher, Vlad Valters, Mihael Kuzmanovic, Jayden McClair-Barkhar, Brandon Taylor, Noble Unanka, Denis Leustean, Mason Martin, Charlie Turner, Jack Ogilvie, Aidan Winters, Mitchell Hackley, for their efforts, attitude and achievements on the day of the event. A thank you also goes to the Miss Edwards, Careers advisor at the academy for helping organising the event, along with the SLGTA group and Stamford New College.

Organisers of the events made the following comments on the SLGTA Website: 6) Events & Activities | SLGTA

Barbara Mehew PrinceBuild Ltd & Chairman of SLGTA (organisers of the event) stated;
A BIG thank you to all the sponsors of the event, we have received some amazing feedback from the schools who attended this year. The positivity of the whole event underpins Princebuilds’ continued commitment to sponsor the event with the awards and trophies. It also demonstrates the value to industry of permitting our current Apprentices time out of their busy schedules to promote Careers in Construction by acting as Construction Ambassadors on both days.

Gary McPartland – Director for Technical and Creative Industries at New College Stamford;
“Over the next five years the construction industry will need to recruit over 220,000 additional people to meet the skills challenge. It is important we sustain the future economy and give young people a taste of the different trades available to them in the professional and technical construction industries. The hugely successful event celebrates the working relationships and collaboration of not only schools and colleges, but local employers, students and tutors who all engage with supporting and delivering activities to the future of our construction workforce.

Steve Taylor – Group Training Officer (SLGTA) commented;
This event, now in its sixth year is a great example of what effective working relationships can achieve.
We have received fantastic support, sponsorship and goodwill from micro businesses through to large employers and of course Further Education providers and training companies. Participation has been as much or as little as the stakeholder could commit to, but through a collaborative approach we have once again provided an excellent experience for children within our region. The best endorsements come from those who attend.