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Belfast school students get a chance to ‘Have a Go at Construction Trades’

150 students from 6 schools in West Belfast got a chance to get hands on experience of brickwork, joinery, painting & decorating and wall & floor tiling at the ‘Have a Go’ programme held at Nutts Corner last week.

This ‘Have a Go’ programme ran for three days and was organised by CITB-ConstructionSkills NI and the West Belfast Business Education Partnership. Each day finished with a ‘flat-pack’ challenge, sponsored by IKEA whereby a group of students from each school had to compete against each other to assemble a flat pack table and chairs. The finished items were in turn donated by each participating school to the nearest nursery/playgroup for their use.
‘Have a Go’ is an initiative which provides a unique opportunity to give visitors a bite size taster of skills areas they have never considered before.
CITB-ConstructionSkills NI organise the annual skills competition for construction apprentices, Skillbuild NI. Barry Neilson, Chief Executive, said, “We are delighted to be involved in this programme which gives the students an insight into construction trades and gives them an opportunity to literally ‘have a go.’ The trade areas represented are core construction roles and it might inspire the students to think differently about this area as a career choice. The construction sector in NI has suffered in recent years but it is still an employer of some 60,000 people. It is the industry that provides the infrastructure and facilities for every other activity known to mankind. And it’s an industry that never stops training and developing its people to achieve the best results they can. That is an important message to give out to young people considering their future life and careers.”
Maria Bradley (Gilbert-Ash) from the West Belfast Business Education Partnership said, “These are different times for employers and students. The ‘Have a Go’ programme is an ideal forum for business and education to work together in providing an opportunity for students to roll up their sleeves and get first-hand experience of construction trades. It has benefits for both the industry and schools. We hope to continue these type of ‘Have a Go’ programmes in the future.”