More than 1,500 school children will be given a hands-on introduction to vital trades as one of the largest ever skills events takes place in Lincolnshire from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 September.
Now in its 21st year, the Construction & Engineering Week 2025 at Lincolnshire Showground will showcase careers in the construction and engineering construction industries with practical hands-on experiences delivered by 50 companies from across the Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Humber regions.
Throughout each day, children, aged between 10 and 18 years, will get to try trades such as carpentry, bricklaying, block paving, electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as welding (using virtual reality simulators), alongside operating diggers and other large equipment used on construction and engineering construction sites.
Free for primary and secondary schools to attend, the event is sponsored by the two Industry Training Boards for construction and engineering construction (CITB and ECITB) and is organised by the Lincoln Group Training Association (LGTA) and Abbey Access Training, in partnership with local employers.
Event support sponsors include Lindum Group, ARCO, LineTrain and Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub.
Event organiser, Steve Taylor, Group Training Officer at LGTA, said: “This inclusive hands-on event aims to ignite passion in the next generation by delivering immersive and impactful construction and engineering experiences.
“We work closely with local schools and businesses to ensure we align the experiences with students. Essentially, we connect young people with real roles in industry to inspire and shape the workforce of tomorrow.”
Many of the companies bring apprentices and trainees who attended the event when they were at school.
Daniel Clark remembers attending Construction Week in 2005 when he was 12 years old. Now Small Works Co-ordinator and EV Charge Manager for Lincoln-based electrical maintenance contractors, Brook & Mayo, he said:
“Construction Week opened my eyes to the multitude of careers available in this industry. Even now, two decades later, I remember the event clearly. I returned to the event 13 years later to help inspire the next generation into the industry.”
Brook and Mayo has supported the event for more than five years and will be providing an electrical installation activity.
Business Development Manager, Darren Misiak, said:
“This is such a brilliant event. It provides that hands-on inspiration and bridges the gap between education and industry to empower the next generation of engineers and builders.”
“The engineering construction industry and its supply chain companies engineer, project manage and install much of the country’s critical infrastructure. It ensures the economy has energy security, clean water, food and drink and the everyday products that we all rely on.
“But our forecasts show that 40,000 additional workers could be needed for major projects, including those related to net zero, by 2030.
“Working in partnership to inspire the next generation of engineers and construction workers and expanding the diversity of new entrants is absolutely vital for us to close that skills gap.”
Andrew Hockey
CEO of the ECITB
“In a time when construction skills are in high demand, it is more important than ever to support events like Construction and Engineering Week. The event gives employers an opportunity to engage with their local community and help inspire the next generation by providing access to transformative, real-world experiences in construction.
“CITB’s recent Construction Workforce Outlook report found the construction industry needs 47,860 extra workers a year to meet the growing demand. To achieve this, it will take collaboration across the industry from employers and educators to work together to help shape the workforce of tomorrow.”
Tim Balcon
CEO of CITB
