Leeds Construction Skills: Caddick Hosts School Pupils

Forty Cockburn Trust students spent three days on the SOYO Block D development, part of a four-year Ahead Partnership programme aimed at keeping young people in education and work

Forty Year 8 pupils have spent three days on a live Leeds building site, trying bricklaying and touring a development that will become student housing. The visits to Caddick Construction’s SOYO Block D scheme off York Road form part of Shaping Our Future, a four-year programme run by Leeds-based Ahead Partnership to stop young people falling out of education, employment or training. It is a small intervention against a large problem: the industry needs tens of thousands of new workers a year, and the Leeds construction skills pipeline depends on teenagers choosing the sector early.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Construction is one of the sectors Leeds most needs to keep delivering, with thousands of homes, student beds and commercial schemes in the pipeline and contractors competing hard for skilled trades. Programmes that introduce teenagers to the industry before they choose their options are one of the few levers that address the shortage at source.

Building the Leeds Construction Skills Pipeline

The pupils, from Cockburn Multi-Academy Trust, took part in a tower-building challenge designed around teamwork and problem-solving, and a goal-setting session aimed at identifying ambitions and the steps to reach them. A guided tour of SOYO Block D, Moda Living’s first student development in Leeds, gave them a view of the scale of a major scheme and the range of roles involved in delivering one. They also heard from Caddick Construction Group managing director Paul Dodsworth, who began his own career as an apprentice bricklayer. Throughout the programme, which launched earlier this year, the same group of volunteers attends every workshop, building familiarity with the students rather than appearing once and moving on.

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“Though we’re less than six months into the programme, the schools we work with are already seeing more than half of their students improve their attendance.”

— Andy Clarke, Partnerships Director, Ahead Partnership

Why Contractors Are Investing in Schools

The Construction Industry Training Board’s latest workforce outlook, published in June, estimates UK construction needs around 206,000 additional workers by 2030, roughly 41,200 a year, with bricklayers, carpenters and plumbers among the hardest roles to fill. Around a third of the existing workforce is over 50. Caddick Construction Group employs more than 500 people across Yorkshire and beyond, reported turnover of £356m and holds a forward order book of over £750m, so the availability of skilled trades is a direct commercial concern. Ahead Partnership, which has worked in this space for two decades with partners including Walker Morris and Landsec, says it is seeking further backers for the next cohort, an open invitation to firms with a stake in Leeds construction skills.