Skanska opens doors to young talent

Open Doors week is an annual event organised by Build UK, the leading representative organisation for the UK construction industry. This year’s event took place at the beginning of October and focused on bridging the construction industry skills gap by attracting school and college leavers, as well as people who are considering a career change or are unemployed.

Teams working on Unity Place in Swindon, the new UK headquarters for Zurich Insurance, as well as The Featherstone Building and the Blossom Street development in London, welcomed visitors to their sites to demonstrate in person the exciting opportunities available. Activities included presentations, Q&A sessions with project teams and their supply chain and site tours.

Amanda Ware, Senior HR Business Partner at Skanska, explained: “Nurturing young talent is key to the future success of our business. Supporting this event each year is a great way for us to showcase the exciting and dynamic career opportunities we have to offer and challenge some misconceptions about what it’s like to work in the industry.

“Working on projects that will become landmarks of the UK’s built environment, such as The Scalpel and Heron Tower in the City of London, can create an immense sense of pride while gaining unique career experience. It’s also an opportunity to understand the key challenges the industry is facing to modernise. For example, reducing carbon emissions, at Skanska, our target is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, including our supply chain, by 2045. This ambitious target is inspiring our people to find more innovative solutions to the way we work, leading to some really exciting projects to work on.”

Suzannah Nichol, Build UK Chief Executive, said: “There is nothing quite like visiting a construction site, whether it is a major project you have seen on the news or one in your local area, to get an idea of just how exciting a career in construction can be. Open Doors gives everyone the opportunity to go through the site gates to see just what goes on and perhaps even spot your ideal job.”

The event was supported by CITB, Go Construct, Considerate Constructors Scheme, Construction Skills Certification Scheme, Black Professionals in Construction, Skylapse, the Home Builders Federation, the Careers Enterprise Company, Department for Work & Pensions, STEM Learning, New Futures Network, the Department for Education, and media partner Building Magazine.

Find out more about working at Skanska

Explore current vacancies at Skanska