Foundation supports Industrial Trust's push into built environment sector

The Industrial Trust works with companies and teachers to encourage young people to take up careers in industry. The Trust has lately been expanding its coverage across Britain and currently the number of educational experiences it has provided exceeds 125,000 for the first time.

Hitherto the Trust has concentrated on the manufacturing and utilities sectors but now, aided by a grant of £13,500 from The Ove Arup Foundation, the Trust is extending its activities to careers in the built environment, currently under-represented in its work. Visits to construction sites can be problematic on safety grounds, but the Trust believes that young people can learn much from visiting the offices of environmental sector professionals like engineers and architects, contractors, manufacturers of pre-fabricated units, apprentice training centres or completed projects.

"We are certain that a move into the built environment would generate enormous interest from schools, colleges and universities and would create a natural link to other parts of the curriculum like Design, Mathematics, the sciences and IT", says Industrial Trust director Stuart Bishell. "It would also be timely against a background of worsening skills shortages in key areas of the sector."

Supporting this initiative dovetails with the Foundation's wish, expressed at last year's workshop, to look beyond our present emphasis on postgraduate and undergraduate education to encouraging careers in the industry at secondary school level.