School children from Harrow Way School in Andover gained first-hand construction and housing experience at our Peake Meadows development in Andover this week, when we joined regional house builder Foreman Homes to deliver a careers morning.

The aim of the morning was to encourage year 10 pupils to pursue careers in construction and housing and give them an insight into the roles available. 

Over the course of the morning, the 14-year-olds learnt about health and safety, the design and construction process for a building site and the various job roles that are available within the housing and construction sector.

The morning concluded with a site visit to local development site, Peake Meadows on Goch Way, where students were given a guided tour of the site by Foreman Homes Project Manager, Mark Brown.

Foreman Homes are developing Peake Meadows on behalf of VIVID. The development will bring 85 new homes to the local area, of which 34 will be affordable housing. The site's due to be completed in summer 2019.

Our Director of New Business and Development, Mike Shepherd, said: “We’re committed to building 1,200 new homes a year, but one of our biggest challenges is the skills shortage within the construction industry. We’re keen to encourage and inspire more young people to pursue careers within this diverse and exciting industry. So, we were delighted to be able to show local school children around our Peake Meadows development and inspire them to think about future career opportunities.”

Nick Hardcastle, Managing Director at Foreman Homes added: “Foreman Homes prides itself upon its commitment to encouraging young people to embark on a career within the construction industry.  We are only too aware of the skills shortages within the industry and actively involve ourselves in supporting events such as this in order to highlight the exciting opportunities available.