Inviting job seekers to visit your sites, offices and factories to is a hugely positive step employers can take, says Anne Pavey at DWP

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Unemployment remains at a near record low, there are a high number of people on company payrolls, and we know that there are a high number of roles on offer. The ‘Find a Job’ site is currently home to over 7,900 vacancies in the construction industry, including foreman and groundwork positions, as well as vacant roles for construction management.

The industry offers great careers to suit a wide range of skills and interests as well as development opportunities to progress. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is helping jobseekers build the skills and experience needed to take up opportunities in construction, whether it’s through a Sector-Based Work Academy Programme or the Restart scheme.

A number of sites have already been registered to the Open Doors website and employers should be looking to get involved as soon as they can

The department’s focus is getting people into work so they can realise their potential. We are thrilled to continue supporting Open Doors, which is delivered by Build UK to allow young people and others looking for a change of career to visit sites and see the diverse range of opportunities available. In addition, offices, factories and other facilities will open their doors to demonstrate the off-site roles across the sector.

The next Open Doors Week will take place next spring, from Monday 13 March until Saturday 18 March 2023, and we’re excited to be supporting the event by raising awareness and speaking to schools and careers advisors across the country about it. A number of sites have already been registered to the Open Doors website and employers should be looking to get involved as soon as they can.

If an employer doesn’t have suitable sites, they should consider touching base with their local Jobcentre Plus. This is an alternative way to demonstrate how much work is done off-site, with cutting-edge technology catching the attention of jobseekers of all ages.

Our Jobcentres support people across the country with a variety of programmes available to suit personal circumstances. We recently made changes to Universal Credit and over 50s offer so even more claimants receive intensive support, to help them not only get into work, but to progress and boost their pay.

We are looking forward to Open Doors 2023 and can’t wait to spread the word about your sector. Construction is too great an industry to be overlooked.

Anne Pavey is senior national partnership manager at the Department for Work and Pensions

Building is the media partner for Open Doors 2023

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Every Person Counts

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Building’s Every Person Counts Campaign aims to provide a place where debates about skills, employment and workplace culture can play out and solutions can be shared.

We know the construction industry has no shortage of suggestions for tackling the skills crisis. From reforming apprenticeships, to offering more flexibility, to increasing diversity, to supporting wellbeing and mental health, to providing better pathways from education to the workplace. We will be picking up on all  these themes in more depth in future articles. 

If you have an employment initiative you want to tell us about, email us at newsdesk@building.co.uk with the subject line “Every Person Counts”. You can also contact us via Twitter @BuildingNews and LinkedIn @BuildingMagazine, please use the hashtag #everypersoncounts. We look forward to hearing your employment stories

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