The Wow Show Q&A

So, there you have it. We've tried to give you a look at what it's like working inside the world of construction. What do you think? You can email us questions or tweet us now. We're also linked up with two schools. We have the Barrack Academy up in Northumberland. Hi guys, give us a wave. And we also have the Jack Hunt School up in Peterborough. We also have three experts with us in the studio. We have Dawn, who knows everything you need to know about apprenticeships. James, you can answer all your questions about construction. And Katie, who you saw fooling around in one of the clips. So, let's get straight to our first question from Berwick. Hi, my name's Marcia. My question is, what sector in construction will be the most in demand in the next seven years? That is great, and this question is for James. Ah, that's on the spot. One of the leading roles in construction that's going to need a lot of people joining over the next four years is we have civil engineering, we have quantity surveying. Bricklaying, in terms of one of the trades, is going to be one of the highest demands over the next four years. In fact, in construction, between now and 2022, we're going to need 158,000 new people joining the construction industry. But those are just some of the roles that are going to be most important. Great. Now, next over to Peterborough, where we do have another question. Hi there. Hello. My question is, what is the average starting wage of a 21-year-old in the industries joined today? Great. This question will be for Dawn. Oh, wow. I think it's a really difficult one to answer. When you join the industry, depending on how you join, if you're an apprentice, or whether you go through the university route, there are different routes. But the important thing to know is that at the beginning, you're earning while you're learning. So your wage might be quite low in the beginning, but it will soon add up over the years to come. And I think that the guy from the film, he actually said his came on three times after he'd come out of his apprenticeship. So, James, have you got something to add to that? Yeah, just to add to that, a recent report showed that construction is actually the second highest paying sector in the UK. I believe the average wage for somebody who works in construction is just over £600 a week. So in terms of the earning potential of the industry, it's the second highest in the country. Great. I hope that answered your question. Now over to Berwick Academy, where we have another question. Hello, my name's Christian. How will Brexit affect the construction industry? Who wants to answer this question? James, do you want to answer this question? Well, actually, CITB have produced a report that goes into the details in regards to Brexit and its impact on the construction industry. Certain areas have higher migrant workers than others. So it'd be really good if you go onto the CITB website. There's loads of information that go into quite detail about Brexit and the impacts it may have on the construction industry. Great. I hope that answered your question. Now we have another question. Hi there. Hello, my name's Melanie and my question is, is the construction industry competitive and what are the management roles like? So who wants to take this question? I'm happy to take that one. Go on, Dawn. Right, okay. I think you probably saw from the film, the management side is really, really exciting. There's some absolutely amazing projects to get involved in in construction. And they can be small, they can be large, but the management side is where all the decisions about the projects are made. It's absolutely inspiring to see. James, would you like to add to that? Yeah, there's so many varieties. You can be a project manager, quantity surveyor, civil engineer. It doesn't really matter what your particular like is, there'll be something within the construction industry for you, whether it be architecture, design, if those are the things that you're into. And in terms of competitiveness, the construction industry is the second largest employer, employing almost three million people across the UK. So it's very competitive and there's loads of jobs within the industry. Great. And I do believe that Katie does want to add to this. Yeah, it was just really about in terms of progression within the construction industry. Even if you don't start off at a management level, it is an industry that really wants to push people forward. So if you have the willing to go into management, people are very willing to train you up, to put you through courses in order to get you there. Great. Now over to Beric for another question. Hi, my name is Amy and my question is, what career opportunities are there for women within construction? And can you please name some of them? Katie, I feel like you should be the one answering this. So I'm a crane operator in construction. I think in terms of what's available for women, it's exactly the same as what's available for men, because we can do anything as well. So whether you want to be a crane operator, a project manager, a construction manager, a carpenter, an electrician, it's entirely up to you. In terms of sort of, I can talk about crane operating. Anyone can do it now because the controls are just like driving a car. It's just learning something new. I hope that helps. Great. Don't be afraid to join Construction Girls. Now over to Peter. Hello. My question is, how do you begin to consider what route to take and what is the right job for them? Dawn, this one is definitely, definitely for you. I would really recommend going on Go Construct, the website. It's got a wealth of information regarding all the different avenues going into construction. There's also a port on there which actually shows you, it asks you some questions about what actually you'd like to do, and then it marries up the job that's best suited for you. So for example, you could be an adrenaline junkie or you could be a mathematician, but there will be a job in construction that's suitable for you. I believe James also wants to add to this. Yeah, just to add to that, Dawn's absolutely right. On the Go Construct website, there's a brilliant page or a brilliant part down just halfway through that says personality quiz. So for any of you students who are unsure as to what you want to do, what roles there are within the construction industry that you think would be best for you, it goes through a list of really interesting and quirky questions that does marry you up to a particular job role or family of job roles within the construction industry. So please, give it a try. Great, I hope that has helped you answer your question. Now over to Berwick Academy. Hi, my name is Bobby and my question is how fast is the construction industry growing? How fast is the construction industry growing? Who wants to take this question? James, do you want to? So the construction industry is forecast to grow over the next four years. I believe it's 1.8%. But at the moment, it turns out £110 billion a year in terms of its output within the UK. And that's, I believe it's about 7% of the UK's GDP, which is massive. So in terms of construction's growth and moving forward and how much it's worth, it's gigantic. Great, and I hope that has helped you. Now, we do have an email come through and the question says, how do you make an impression on an employer and what are they looking for? And I'm presuming this one is for Dawn. Hi, yes, I think to do an apprenticeship, you need an employer. And the best thing to do is to do your research, decide what it is that you want to do and what type of company and what type of projects you want to get involved in. Do you want to work on residential sites? Do you want to get involved in some of these big commercial sites that you see? And then start targeting those employers that work in those kind of arenas. And then make those phone calls, make that your voice heard. Send off your CVs, follow it up with the phone calls afterwards. Go to local colleges, see if anybody's got any contacts. Don't give up. Once you've got the opportunity, then it's your chance to shine and show your interest in that side of things. Construction is a fantastic place to work. And just keep going, you will find that right employer for you. Great, and I hope that's answered your question. Now over to Peterborough for another question. Hello, I would like to ask, how can students gain work experience in these areas of work? Work experience, who's going to take this one? When it comes to work experience, one of the best ways, as Dawn was mentioning, when it comes to looking for jobs that are similar with work experience, is to approach a lot of the employers. The construction industry, it's all about talking to people, meeting people. So you can call up one of your local construction companies. If there's a particular trade that you're interested in, or a particular management or technical role, go through the yellow pages online. Find what companies are around and local to you or your school. You can contact them that way. Most schools will have a work-related learning person that they can speak to who may speak to employers on their behalf. Or you can contact CITB through Go Construct, and one of your CITB advisors will be able to assist as well. Great, I'm hoping that helped you out there. Now over to Berwick Academy. Got a question for us? My name is Josie, and my question is, what opportunities are there in construction for higher level degree apprenticeships? Dawn! The construction apprenticeship arena is actually changing. It's a really exciting time, and there's absolutely loads of routes coming through that are new. Institute for Apprenticeship website is a fantastic website, and it will list. You can just click on apprenticeships and click on construction, and it gives you a wide range of different levels. So apprenticeships today start at level 2 and they go up to level 6, which is a degree level, and there's absolutely loads coming through. So I would say definitely recommend taking a check out on that one. Great, now over to Peterborough, where I presume you guys have another question for us. How do we motivate young people to gain experience in these unknown jobs and careers? Who wants to take this one? Katie, go on. I think motivating young people is, a lot of it's based around having good role models. So the more people they see like themselves, doing these jobs in the construction industry, doing all different roles, the more likely they're going to look at the industry as a possibility for themselves. So I think as companies, we need to promote what we do a lot better. We need to promote who we've got, what they do, so they can explain to the younger people. There you go. Now over to Berwick Academy, where I presume you guys have another question. Hello, my name is Georgia. Hi Georgia. My question is, can you give me an example of a career pathway for someone who has left school with a good set of A levels in science and maths? James, you seem happy for that one. Go on James, that's you. Science and maths, you've got a multitude of roles that you can go into. On the maths side, a lot of people don't know about a role called quantity surveying. They're kind of like the accountants of the construction industry, but instead of dealing with thousands and hundreds, they deal with millions. And they'll work with the subcontractors, the tradespeople on site, they'll work with the managers, they'll deal with the large numbers. So if you're into maths, then quantity surveying, estimating, it's a similar type of role where you estimate how much it will cost for your project to be built. But then on the science-y side, you've got civil engineering. So civil engineers are the men and women in the industry who build the massive kind of big towers, big buildings, you know, the gherking, bridges, railways. They look at the kind of geometrical forces, they think about all the natural forces that work on a building. So they're going to have to have that science side of them. You've got geotechnicians, you've got all sorts of types of roles when it comes to somebody who's good with maths and science, and they're extremely well paid. And these are jobs and qualifications you can take around the world. I could add to that as well. Oh, Dawn wants to add to that one as well. The routes in as well is, like I said earlier, there are the apprenticeship routes in, so you can go in straight at a level three, or you can do A-levels, and you may have an entry route in at a level four. So from an apprenticeship angle, there is that angle, or you can go direct to university after doing A-levels as well. So the choice is yours. There you go. And now we've just received another email, and this one is from Ali, and it says, what is the highest paid job within construction? Ooh, that's a tough one. It does vary, to be honest. So project managers can make upwards of 100,000 a year. But then, like I say, it could be with a civil engineer. They can earn 80-plus, 90. Some quantity surveyors are, when you get to your senior levels and you become chartered, that's the extra professional level that you reach. You can be talking about the high 80s, 90s, and again, above 100,000. But within the industry, it does depend on who you work for, where you work, what you are, and ultimately, how good you are at your job. But in terms of earning potential, like we said, it's one of, in fact, the second largest paying industries in the UK. So yeah, you can make a lot of money in construction. And I'm presuming, Dawn, you also want to add something to this one as well? Yeah, I just think skills gap is the other thing, is that there are certain trades that are in demand. At the moment, bricklayers seem to be very much in demand. We're on a big government-funded project at the moment about house building, building more homes for people. And to do that, we need bricklayers. And there is such a shortage out there. So because there's a shortage, that will then mean that salaries will automatically grow. So yeah, there is lots of opportunities to earn lots of money. Great, there you go. And I hope that's answered your question. Now over to Peter Brough. Hi, my name's Lauren. I'd like to ask, what qualifications do you need to have a career in engineering? Hi Lauren, and who wants to answer this one? James? Maths would be a great one. Some sciences as well, if that's your particular thing. But if you have maths and science as a basic, then those are the types of qualifications that you need to get into engineering. Engineering is massive. You've got electrical engineering, as we said. You've got civil engineering. You've got different types of technicians that get involved in engineering when it comes to the construction of any building. But I would say mainly maths and science. Great, there we go. And we have just received a question from Twitter. And it says, how is the construction industry responding to the introduction of T-Levels and communicating the opportunities with schools and young people? Then this one is from King Edward School. So who's going to answer this one? Okay, T-Levels is something that's new. Construction is definitely... I think we are ahead of some other sectors, I'm right in saying. They're at a Level 3 and above. So the entry level is more at A-Level for T-Levels. It is very new. It is something that I'm not a subject expert on. But we are definitely one of the industries that actually get involved in it in quite early days. I'm not sure if that answers all the questions. Just to add on to that, within the industry we are looking and working with our employers. Because one of the things with T-Levels is the work experience days. It's quite a requirement. So what we are doing is working with employers to see how they can work with schools and colleges to increase the amount of work experience, interaction with employers and engagement with employers so that they're able to achieve their T-Levels. Over to Berwick Academy for a question. Hello, my name is Jordan. My question is, are there any roles in construction for people who are studying art and humanities? Roles in construction? Who wants to take this question? I'll do it. James again. When it comes to art, we have designers. You've got design managers. You've got architects. By the way, design managers are the people that have a look when it comes to planning a construction project. How the building is going to look, what it's going to be like in the local environment. You've got town planners, as we saw in the video earlier. They kind of design what the whole town will look like when it comes to designing something. As we said, you've got interior designers. You've got painting and decorators. When it comes to that arty side of an individual, there are loads of roles within the construction industry. And I hope that's answered your question. Unfortunately, we are almost out of time. So we do only have time for one more question. Over to Peterborough. It's hard to know. What are top companies doing to reduce inequality in their industries? Inequality? Katie, can you answer this question? I think it's high on the agenda. Diversity and inclusion generally is high on the agenda in most construction companies at the moment. I know in Langerooch, we're trying to make an inclusive environment for everyone. I'm not sure exactly what other companies are doing, but you're seeing a lot more diversity on site. People are actually putting targets towards how many people... I'm not sure targets are always a great thing, but it gives companies something to aim for. So diversity targets on Tideway are very, very high, for instance. I think Tideway is about 50%, which is massive. 50% women, 50% men. So I think it's on everyone's agenda and the industry is changing towards that. I hope that has helped you. And that is all we have time for. I would like to say a big thank you to the two schools, Berwick Academy and also the Jack Hunt School in Peterborough, and to also our experts here in the studio, Dawn, James, and of course, Katie. And don't forget, if you want to find out more about construction, you can go to GoConstruct.org as it is a great place to start and you'll find out a lot of information there. Don't forget to watch out for the next WOW Show, but in the meantime, you can catch up anytime on YouTube. But for now, it's goodbye.