Launching the partnership in 2021
At the same time, its council is clear that this will only happen if the public and private sector work together to lay the foundations where jobs and opportunity can be created locally.
We made a pledge with Southampton going back two years as to how they would recover post-pandemic and part of that was to have a real impact on what we are doing in their communities and make sure we leave a real lasting legacy."
Morgan Sindall Construction has accepted this challenge and agreed a new five-year partnership with Redbridge Community School in Southampton.
The partnership has seen the company, one of the UK’s leading building contractors, support pupils with their learning, personal and academic development.
Watch the short video below to learn more about the partnership launch
As well as creating training opportunities within its own business, Morgan Sindall Construction will leverage its own supply chain and contacts in the industry to help local people get on the career ladder.
I want students to understand that what students do in lesson matters. What they learn, matters. We’ve looked to the outside world for partners. Morgan Sindall has given us a commitment over time and that matters because it means our students can develop relationships, they can have experiences with people that they get to know and then hopefully the golden ticket; can we create a pathway for students from their lessons, into employment."
The agreement with Redbridge - a mixed secondary school in the west of the city and administered by Southampton City Council (SCC) and the Reach Cooperative Trust - signifies Morgan Sindall Construction’s deep commitment to improving educational offerings across the region.
The key thing for us was to open the eyes of the student to what construction offers. It’s been really interesting to see what the students think of construction, and then being able to bring in some of our professionals to work with them and broaden their view of what they could be doing."
The partnership is inspired by a belief that offering secure foundations for children to build their futures is crucial and will help them overcome challenges, from skills shortages to low school retention rates.
Year 10 student, Harrison Page, added: “This will be a great learning opportunity for both myself and many other students. Meeting Cliff and Oli has inspired me even more to work in the construction industry - the opportunities blew my mind! I would love an apprenticeship with Morgan Sindall Construction when I leave school.”
The partnership is focused on elevating the curriculum and helping the school with the delivery of the City & Guilds Technical Award in Construction and the Built Environment.
Students will experience hands-on activities, exposure and connection to the industry and guidance on subject choices and their relevance to specific functions.
These learnings can then be applied when pupils are old enough to do on-site work placements, creating clear pathways to careers into construction.
The agreement to work together is based around an agreed set of core values and expectations which define how Morgan Sindall Construction will engage with students – Talent, Respect, Reliability and Commitment.
It inspires the students, it engaged the students, they want to know when the next experience is. So it elevates all that we do. I can teach in my normal way but having a company that really cares, really should mean in a few years we start to see these students entering the construction industry and motoring on from there."
