NDTG are excited to share their experiences as a Feature Exhibitor at World Skills UK Live 2019 last week. Across the 3 day show at Birmingham NEC, 70,000 young people and influencers including careers advisors, academy leads, teachers and parents visited to find out more about prospective careers across a wide range of industry sectors.
The hoards of young people, aged from 12 years up to 18 years were eager to learn about different job roles available within the demolition industry, routes to entry through Apprenticeships, the career pathway and opportunities for progression and were enlightened by the innovation, sophistication and key health, safety and environmental factors involved in demolition projects today.
NDTG and NFDC were joined by representatives from Keltbray, Coleman, McGee, CMEC, Cawarden, DSM and AR Demolition, providing visitors with an employer’s perspective on the talent they’re looking for in a future workforce – and with most of these NFDC members also bringing their current Apprentices along, visitors also benefitted from engaging with and learning from ‘new-start’ demolition professionals.
With a large, bright and modern stand in a prominent spot, two state-of-the-art demolition simulators available as a ‘have-a-go’ attraction, well targeted graphics and messages to attract the young audience, an exciting show reel of real-life demolition video footage and coveted give-aways for visitors, the NDTG stand was the busiest for visitor traffic in the Construction Hub! With branded bar tables stamped with ‘TALK TO US ABOUT CAREERS IN DEMOLITION’ and stools for visitors to get comfortable, our ‘World Skills Team’ set the stage for quality conversations in a relaxed environment and maximised the abundance of opportunities to engage with students, parents, careers advisors, college and academy heads and teachers.
We were in great company with HS2, BAM, National Grid and CITB as our neighbours in the Construction & Infrastructure Hub. A representative from HS2 commented on how positive it was to see the demolition industry represented on such a large scale and in such a professional manner at the biggest skills and careers fair in the UK.
With a new and updated CCDO poster and a brand new Demolition Careers booklet developed specifically for the Show, visitors and influencers were both surprised and impressed at the robustness, clarity and opportunities for progression up the demolition industry career ladder. NDTG were invited by around 30 construction academies, colleges, schools and ex-offender institutes to give talks about job opportunities in the demolition industry all over the UK.
NDTG made a positive impact on young minds explaining how health, safety, worker wellbeing, environmental and recycling are all key factors in the demolition industry and how demolition contractors take their responsibilities very seriously. We opened minds to the sustainability of a career in demolition and delivered age-appropriate explanations of the part Operatives play in the progress and development of UK housing, facilities, city centres and more. We helped the young audience to make the link between demolition, construction and local authority initiatives. We changed perceptions and elevated the image of demolition by showing how the industry is far more sophisticated and innovative than people realise.
WSUK 2019 provided a brilliant platform for NDTG and NFDC to shout loud about the demolition industry – and we found the audience to be receptive, enthused, inspired and interested in our message. Now, it’s up to all of us working in the demolition industry to build on this positive experience – move forward, sustain momentum and continue to educate, inform and inspire future talent that there is a long-term and rewarding career to be had in demolition!