A group of S2 pupils from Falkirk High School found out that a career in the construction industry is about more than just hard hats, muddy boots, building sites and bricks and mortar.
Since last August, the class has been taking part in Women in Property’s Schools Outreach programme – a 10-month initiative run entirely by industry volunteers, in
partnership with Kier Construction, MLA Architects and BakerHicks.
Each month, a different professional came into the classroom and many of the roles that made the biggest impression were ones the pupils had never heard of – sustainability consultants modelling energy performance, bid writers and marketing managers using storytelling to win projects, and quantity surveyors managing complex project budgets.
At the heart of the programme was an opportunity to create proposals for what the young people would like to see at the new Falkirk Town Hall site.
Falkirk Council officers came to the school to set the brief and the pupils also visited the site, getting a real sense of the space and its surroundings.
The pupils presented their finished proposals – complete with 3D models – at an event in Rosebank Distillery.
Falkirk Council’s portfolio holder for education, Councillor Iain Sinclair, attended the presentations and saw first-hand how the pupils had grown in confidence, developed new skills and could articulate how their school subjects connected directly to professional life – from naths to quantity surveying, physics to structural engineering, and geography to urban planning.
He said: “Watching these young people present with such confidence and knowledge was genuinely impressive. This is exactly the kind of real-world learning experience we want for our young people – broadening their horizons and opening doors they might never have known existed.
“It was also fitting the presentations took place in Rosebank Distillery – a building designed by MLA Architects, one of the programme’s partners. Having learned about every stage of the design and construction process, the pupils understood exactly went into creating the space they were standing in and had a better understanding than most.
“I hope it inspires them as they look ahead to their future careers.”
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