Guest Post: Medway UTC Interview RAP Interiors

The construction industry is one of the largest sectors of the economy, contributing almost £90 billion to the UK economy. This comprises over 280,000 businesses, covering some 2.93 million jobs; this is the equivalent to about 10% of total UK employment. However, for some reason the construction image has been tainted over the years meaning that the industry has problems appealing to both women and young people. This is extremely detrimental to businesses in the United Kingdom as companies are struggling to recruit and retain people with the right type of skills. The question is how can we rectify this image? Medway UTC has the solution. The Medway University Technical College, based in Chatham, Kent is a new type of school for the county which enables 14-19 years olds to gain hands-on experience and practical tuition in Construction, Design and Engineering. With support and help from the University of Greenwich, Local Businesses and some of the region’s largest employers within the industry, students will gain experience and learn skills that employers demand. The UTC has recently been approaching established and experienced Kent businesses within the construction industry and asked RAP Interiors Director, Julie Anderson to get involved. As Julie is a committee member of the KCFG and a member of Construction Excellence Kent, she understands first-hand how important it is to get more women and young people into construction. Here is the Interview. Thank you to Jade Legge, Marketing Executive of Medway UTC for allowing us to share this. RAP-Julie-Anderson-Interview-with-Medway-UTC-Kent We asked Jade why it’s important for Kent companies to be involved in which she responded the following. “The purpose of Medway UTC interviewing companies within our specialist industries – such as RAP Office Refurbishments – is so that we can help identify the several different routes to employment on offer to our future students. It is very easy for students, in particular young girls, to associate Construction as working manual labour in the wind and cold when in actual fact there are so many different career options within this line of work; the stereotypical image of construction rarely includes options such as architecture and design. Interviewing a range of people within these industries – such as, Julie Anderson Director of RAP Office Refurbishments – will not only allow our students to identify different career options but it also allows them to understand what it is they need to do to achieve said career and use an inspirational figure, such as Julie, as somebody to look up to.” If you think your business can help the Medway UTC with an interview please contact Jade (j.legge@medwayutc.co.uk) Overall this is something the team at RAP Interiors takes seriously and feel that anyone should get involved with Construction as it’s a great industry to be a part of!

For more information on Guest Post: Medway UTC Interview RAP Interiors talk to Rap Interiors