Open your doors and help recruit the next generation

The Department for Education (DfE) is excited to be an official community partner for Open Doors 2023.

We know that getting young people out of the classroom and visiting places of work is a great way of inspiring them and opening their horizons, and Open Doors does just that.

Delivered by Build UK, it’s a well-established programme, featuring dozens of construction sites, offices, factories and other facilities across the UK that are opening to the public, so visitors can actually see first-hand the ‘mysteries’ that go on behind those hoardings.

In other words, it’s the perfect taster to get young people interested in construction, because we know there’s nothing like seeing the industry in action.

As everyone already working in the sector knows, it offers great and varied career opportunities. Construction jobs boast above average pay, stimulating roles that address critical issues such as climate change and the country’s shift to net zero, as well as a long-term pipeline of work.

We want to do our part at the DfE by ensuring the educational system provides clear and practical pathways into careers in construction

These selling points ought to be a huge attraction, but they are not always well known among the general population, and even less so among young people.

We are also aware that the government is investing heavily in a wide range of infrastructure and other building projects, including vital schools and hospitals, and to deliver those improvements the government needs a healthy and sustainable construction sector. These are projects that will improve the quality of life for millions, as well as being great opportunities for investing in training, not just for today but for the projects of the future.

We want to do our part at the DfE by ensuring the educational system provides clear and practical pathways into careers in construction, and we welcome publication of resources such as Build UK’s Routes of Entry guide alongside offering our support to Open Doors. This new guide covers apprenticeships, traineeships, T Levels and degrees and clearly sets out how each option might suit a particular business or young person. It goes hand in hand with Talentview Construction and Go Construct’s Career Explorer, which provide further information and opportunities to help recruit the 53,000 new entrants the industry needs each year.

By actively promoting Open Doors visits, alongside these resources on how to find careers to suit an individual’s interest, how to enter the sector and how to find entry level positions in the sector, the conversion rate of recruiting Open Doors visitors into construction new recruits is expected to skyrocket.

If you have a site registered, you need to reach out to the nearby schools yourself to drum up attention 

We at the DfE are particularly keen to ensure that schools take advantage of the opportunities that Open Doors presents, and we know that many are already planning their activities for next March. It’s therefore vital that contractors and clients who are planning to take part register their sites on the Open Doors website as soon as possible. Visitor bookings officially open in January, but for sites that are suitable for block bookings, spaces can even be reserved now for schools and other groups.

As part of our partnership, we will spread the word among schools that Open Doors is a great programme. But that alone won’t bring in the visitors. If you have a site registered, you need to reach out to the nearby schools yourself to drum up attention for your particular site, and to coordinate their visits.

Schools will want to make sure that they understand the practicalities involved, so Build UK has a range of materials to assist you in planning for school visits. These include a template Visit Brief and Risk Assessment, which you can populate to make organising school visits much easier for their Careers Leaders, who will have multiple demands on their time. And if you need any further information or support, please don’t hesitate to contact the Open Doors team.

Time is running out, so register your sites to Open Doors as soon as you can, then get out to see your local schools!

Mohammed Mayat, sector growth manager for construction, Department for Education (DfE)

Building is the media partner for Open Doors 2023