Cumbrian Housebuilder Launches New School Education Programme
A Cumbrian housebuilder has launched a new education programme aimed at helping young people understand the wide range of careers and opportunities available within the construction industry.
Genesis Homes will begin rolling out its Next Gen initiative this month, with one school being paired with each of the company's housing developments across Cumbria.
The programme has been designed to give pupils an insight into how new communities are created, while introducing them to the different professional roles involved in housebuilding and the skills required to help shape residential areas.
As part of the initiative, pupils will be able to learn about careers extending beyond traditional construction roles, including design, engineering, planning, sustainability, marketing and finance.
Genesis Homes has also established partnerships with organisations to broaden the educational programme. The Cumberland Building Society will deliver financial education sessions for secondary school pupils.
The Rebuild Site will provide sustainability workshops for schools in Carlisle, focusing on environmental responsibility and the role it plays in modern construction.
The first sessions were piloted with two Eden based schools, Ullswater Community College in Penrith and Stainton Primary School, giving pupils an early opportunity to explore the industry.
During the pilot sessions, pupils were introduced to different careers within housebuilding and challenged to create their own housing development.
The exercise required the students to think about the type of community they wanted to create, including community spaces and the potential markets they would need to consider when planning their development.
The pupils also took part in practical activities designed to make the learning more engaging, including creating mood boards and insulating model homes.
Nicky Gordon, managing director of Genesis Homes, said the Next Gen programme was intended to show young people the breadth of opportunities available within the construction sector while also providing early lessons in personal finance.
He said construction involved considerably more than activity on a building site, with a wide range of career paths available across areas including design, engineering, planning, sustainability, marketing and finance.
Mr Gordon also said working with local schools provided an opportunity to establish connections with young people at an early stage and potentially inspire those who could contribute to the future of the industry.
Hannah Williamson, community branch manager for The Cumberland, described the initiative as a positive development and welcomed the investment being made by a Cumbrian business in the region's next generation of schoolchildren.
The programme is intended to combine careers education with practical learning, giving pupils the opportunity to consider how housing developments are planned while understanding some of the financial and environmental issues associated with creating new communities.
By linking schools with housing developments, Genesis Homes aims to give pupils a more direct understanding of the work involved in creating places where people live, while introducing them to career options they may not previously have considered.
The wider programme will bring together housebuilding, financial education and sustainability, providing participating schools with different ways of exploring the skills and responsibilities involved in developing communities across Cumbria.
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