Louisa Finlay
Chief people officer, Kier
Open Doors Week starts on 17 March – and this year’s event will be bigger than ever. It is our chance to show the wider population what we can do.
In construction, we talk a lot about how we are perceived outside of the industry. About how we want to reach more people, how we encourage them to join us, how we inspire the next generation.
Mostly this is a conversation around recruitment but, for me, it is more than that. I believe it is something that we owe to ourselves.
While recruitment is strong – something we are certainly seeing at Kier – there are reasons why mythbusting should stay at the forefront of our minds. According to a survey published by YouGov in November, some of the words most commonly associated with construction are “dirty” and “stressful” – even today.
We know the truth is very different, and these simplistic, outdated stereotypes should not be used to explain an industry so rewarding and bursting with complexity and skill. But the reason for these misconceptions is the widely held myths about what construction actually entails.
Thousands of people walk past our hoardings every day, many of them thinking they have a clear idea of what is happening on the other side. They will stop, glance at the CGI images which show what will appear when the fences come down and the ribbon is cut, and believe that they know what is required to make them a reality.
As industry professionals, we know their preconceptions barely scratch the surface of what the truth really is: that construction is varied, vibrant and, above all, vital – with a huge number of exciting, rewarding, well-paid career paths.
There has never been a more important time for our industry to be driving home this message. Infrastructure has been clearly cited as an engine to power up economic growth. We are at the forefront of efforts to achieve that growth, to deliver the infrastructure we all rely on and to connect people and places.
So, as well as getting on the radar of the next generation of construction professionals, we also owe it to ourselves to increase recognition of just how vital we are to this country.
As we approach one of the weeks in the calendar I enjoy the most, I wanted to share with you one example of how we do that. This Open Doors Week, from 17-22 March, Kier, along with many others in the industry, will be opening the doors of its sites and hosting online sessions, all open to the general public.
We will be inviting attendees ranging from school and college students to parents, jobseekers and local people with an interest in learning more about the huge amount of work that goes into turning a project from an idea into something which makes a genuine difference to their communities.
Every year we learn a little bit more and input more of what we hear from people into these sessions. We are embracing social media as a way to reach more young people – showing them the huge range of careers available in areas they are passionate about – for example – sharing how the construction industry has a pivotal role to play in combatting climate change, and how we are using cutting-edge digital tools and AI to help us on this journey.
Our online events for Open Doors, being hosted for the first time, will be tailored to green careers and creative media, showing that we are a broad church for all professions.
Importantly, our people will also be on hand to show and explain how they make a difference. Changing perceptions requires personal testimonials and Open Doors is an initiative which has that in abundance.
Giving young people and career changers the opportunity to speak to people who have made the decisions they are trying to make is vital to that. This is central to what the week offers, with people who understand the industry sharing their passion for it and talking through the complexities of the projects they are working on.
We have clearly seen the benefits of this approach since last year’s events – which attracted 800 people to our sites alone. This year we aim to do even better. We are opening the doors of more sites – holding 92 events in total – and hope to help the organisers, Build UK, make this Open Doors Week the most successful one yet.
We all have friends and family who are contemplating their career paths and, following recent data published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation that shows a downward trend in recruitment in the UK, people could be anxious about what the future holds. But, construction is open for business and I would encourage everyone in the industry to support this fantastic initiative.
I have worked in construction, and at Kier, for over 35 years. In that time, I have been privileged to work on some incredible projects and with countless amazing people. This Open Doors Week, I will be out on our 33 Piccadilly site in London and will be hoping to engage and inspire those attendees.
My message to all of you is to think back through your career – from where you started to where you are now – and ask how you can use your experiences to change perceptions, or even inspire someone to grasp the same opportunities.
“This article was originally published by Building Magazine”