Redrow targets school leavers for fully funded housebuilding degree programme

Degree aims to improve the quality of vocational training available

Redrow is looking for 12 school-leavers from across the country to join its Housebuilding Degree programme for the first time this year.

The course was launched in 2017 in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Coleg Cambria and aims to teach participants the skills to become a construction manager in housebuilding over a three year period. The programme is the first dedicated degree of its kind. 

Until now, Redrow’s degree has been offered to current employees with a level three qualification, or a minimum five years in the industry, who would embark on the programme to attain a BSc (Hons) Construction Management in Housebuilding.

But now Redrow is directly targeting school leavers with three A-Level pass grades or a BTEC Level 3, with the view that they will start the course within their first couple of months at Redrow.

Earlier this year Redrow revealed that almost half (42%) of young adults are not receiving information about careers in construction at school.

The degree is the latest innovation from the housebuilder to attract talent and upskill the housebuilding workforce to tackle the growing skills gap.

Fully funded by Redrow, the course provides a deep dive into housebuilding skills, including assessing quality, project management, health and safety, business skills and negotiation, right through to relevant aspects of law, mathematics and economics.

In each year there are six block weeks of classroom learning which will be taught in partnership between LJMU’s Department of the Built Environment, Coleg Cambria and Redrow business experts with the rest of the contact time satisfied through classroom learning, practical site visits and tutorials.

This means that students will be able to combine working with Redrow with their studies. Candidates will be assessed in a variety of ways including presentations, examinations, coursework and a final year dissertation project.

Karen Jones, HR director at Redrow, commented:

“We launched our degree programme to expose more young women and men to the hundreds of career options the construction industry has to offer, and it’s fantastic to now be approaching school leavers with the opportunity.

“It’s well known that the construction industry is facing a skills shortage caused by an ageing construction workforce and the looming loss of EU-workers, so it’s vital the industry plans for the future and secures the talent and skills needed.

“Improving vocational training is the best way to attract more people into the industry, and earn and learn opportunities play a crucial role in this. Part of that means working in partnership with further education and higher education providers to develop new pathways that enable recruits to develop the aptitude, attitude and strategic nous to deliver vital new homes and communities.”

Beth Salisbury, Trainee Quantity Surveyor at Redrow Homes, is in her first year of the Housebuilding Degree:

“I was first attracted to the degree because it’s a great opportunity to broaden my knowledge of the housebuilding industry while creating the building blocks of my career at Redrow Homes. I learn new things every day, each week is a new challenge – and it’s wonderful to know that the work I’m doing is playing a part in building somebody’s future home.

“For now, I’m focused on getting the most out of my degree and learning from those I work alongside at Redrow Homes, but my dream is to one day be managing director of my own housebuilding division.”

The successful students will start working at Redrow in September in site-based roles and will start their degree programme in January 2019.