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Learning in lockdown

Digital work experience

In May, we launched Learning in Lockdown, a virtual work experience programme for students aged 14-15.

More than 300 schools and many thousands of students from across the UK joined Learning in Lockdown. The initiative was supported by over 150 people from 32 of the biggest names in construction, giving 224 hours of their time.

Overall, we saw some fantastic results from the initiative - great feedback from students, teachers and industry alike. Some amazing submissions from the student and with many that will now undoubtedly consider a career in construction.

Throughout the week, we measured the success of the initiative and over a 30 hour period, we saw £192,856 of Social Value created, equating to £6,429 of Social Value per hour and a 4:1 social return on investment.

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How it worked

We operated on a not-for-profit basis with our partners, to create a week long remote work experience programme.

The scheme ran for 5 full days. Here's how our team of experts came together:

  • Class Of Your Own provided the syllabus, learning resources and guidance for teachers, schools and students. The week will be based around a design challenge for teams of young people that will utilise the full breadth of the STEM subjects
  • Learn Live managed the broadcast and interactive online experience to engage the thousands of participants
  • The scheme has been fully audited and provided all participating young people who submitted an entry at the end of the week with a Silver Industrial Cadets award and would become a part of the national Industrial Cadets accreditation network
  • The Social Value Portal monitored and reported upon the social value generated throughout the whole initiative

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Meet the delivery team

Learning in lockdown industry

Supported by the best in the industry

LIL social value

Learning in Lockdown created a 4:1 social return on investment

LIL designs

and some truly awe inspiring designs!

What's included?

A week long programme

The syllabus was built around the Esteem Pavilion Challenge.

We introduced a collaborative construction, design, engineering and project management challenge and featured all of the STEM subjects.

Young people worked together in small groups - and with industry mentors - to deliver a fully detailed engineering design proposal.

And this is not just theory. They worked on a real building!

  • Design
  • Engineering
  • Construction
  • Project Management
  • Sustainability

Expert input from across the industry

We assembled a crack team of daily speakers.

The full team included a wide range of industry experts and volunteers, spanning the major construction and consultancy firms in the UK. They agreed to give their time to share their experiences of the construction industry, explain how it works and will offer important "from the floor" insights to inspire and engage attendees.

We were also supported by the talented students at Herriot Watt University who kindly worked with students throughout the week.

Together, our panel of experts created an unforgettable online learning experience.

  • Daily speakers
  • Industry insight
  • Career insights
  • Mentoring
  • Live chat

Silver Industrial Cadets Award

The programme featured 30 hours of work experience.

It was accredited by both Class of Your Own and the Industrial Cadets Scheme.

This provided all participating young people with a completion certificate that included the Silver Industrial Cadets Award. They became part of the national Industrial Cadets accreditation network

That means every student participated in industry recognised work experience and each received a useful addition to their future CV!

Learn more about the Industrial Cadets.

  • 30 hours work experience
  • Fully accredited scheme
  • Silver Industrial Cadets Award

Register for a future scheme

The first round of Learning in Lockdown has now been completed and was a resounding success.

There is huge demand for high-quality, virtual work experience programmes that will inspire and engage young people.

We're working on what comes next!

It's our intention to explore how we can expand this pilot scheme so that more schools and young people can benefit from this technology. So please enter your details in the form below. We'll be in touch soon.

Resource

Build UK Work Experience Guide

Take a look at the Build UK "Future Building' work experience guide, produced in collaboration with Class of Your Own and the Department for Work and Pensions for the construction industry.

This guide is designed to make it as easy as possible for companies to offer work experience placements that provide a stepping stone into longer term work or training.