They were among the estimated 800 school and college students from across Hull and East Yorkshire who attended this year’s Foundations Live event – a professional business networking and trade event, combined with an interactive careers fair, which aimed to promote career pathways in the construction sector. 

Led by Hull-based construction and maintenance company Hobson & Porter, and hosted by Bishop Burton College, Foundations Live attracted 90 exhibitors who were on-hand promote more than 200 potential career pathways

School careers leader, Viki Foster, said: “Foundations Live was a great interactive way to show our students the different careers involved within the construction industry. The students really enjoyed the practical nature of the event and many said that they may now consider a career within construction.

“It is so important to give students these opportunities to learn more about different sectors and to address some of the stereotypes surrounding them. We would like to thank Hobson & Porter, Bishop Burton College and all of the representatives for organising a fantastic careers event for the Yorkshire and Humber region.”

Foundations Live is the result of the collaborative and ongoing working relationship between Hobson & Porter, Jewson, Jewson Partnership Solutions and Bishop Burton College. They are also partnered by the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board), who provide information about grants and fundraising to support the industry in developing the future workforce, including support for apprenticeships.

The annual live event also promotes Hobson & Porter’s year-long Foundations scheme – a unique initiative that aims to help create a sustainable workforce for the construction industry by educating, developing, and upskilling the workforce of the future across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in response to an ever-present skills shortage.  

Formalised in 2012, the scheme raises awareness of career opportunities in the construction industry through practical engagement to demonstrate the real-life application of curriculum topics. Alignment with the academic calendar also provides employment links for students in secondary, further, and higher education, who are seeking to make informed decisions about their futures or take their first steps into industry. It also assists adult learners, including those seeking to retrain, by helping them to access training and employment opportunities. 

For further information about Hobson & Porter’s Foundations Live event and associated scheme, please visit: www.foundationslive.co.uk 

ABOVE: Foundations Live provides an annual opportunity for school and college students to interact with representatives from the construction sector and explore career opportunities. 

ABOVE: Grainger Wheal was among a group of Year 11 students from Withernsea High School who visited this year’s event.