Eight students spent a week experiencing the world of work, life at Eric Wright Group, and gaining an in depth understanding of the diversity of roles in the construction and built environment industry.
WOWEX: The World of Work Experience is an opportunity for young people between the ages of 14 – 18 to spend a week in the office of a construction management business.
The students participated in workshops with staff from across the business, and learnt about roles including bid writers, design managers and project managers, as well as visiting a real construction site.
Throughout the week they worked on a fictional project which gave the opportunity to develop skills including planning a programme, calculating risk in purchasing, visualising a site and calculating costs.
Eight students joined the programme from Brownedge St Mary’s, Longridge High School, Holy Cross Catholic High School, Preston College and Wigan & Leigh College. They worked together to develop team skills, communication, leadership, adaptability, resilience and problem solving.
On day four, the group presented their project as a tender to Eric Wright Learning Foundation trustees, who were able to test the depth of their knowledge and understanding of the programme. The students demonstrated outstanding presentation skills and creativity, and did themselves proud in front of the panel.
Diane Bourne, managing director of Eric Wright Civil Engineering said: “It was great to see confidence and knowledge developing across the week. We were impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the group, many of whom had given up their half term to work with us, and we look forward to seeing their construction and engineering careers progress.”