Team ‘Ignite’ win the BE INSPIRED challenge

In October last year, the CIC East Midlands regional committee in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, launched the BE INSPIRED challenge which invited students at Nottingham Business School and the School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment to join forces to produce a three minute video and social media campaign to engage and inform young people that the construction industry professions offer attractive career paths.

On Thursday 3 March a talented team of three students scooped the prestigious top prize at an event to announce the winners. Team ‘Ignite’, comprising of 24-year-old Eva Kuricova, 21-year-old Edward Barton and 22-year-old Julian Daley, were named the first ever winners of BE INSPIRED. The runners-up were Emily Singleton and Rebecca Richards from team ‘Construct the Future’.

Maria Willis, of Construction Coach and chair of the East Midlands Construction Industry Council, has been working with the university to run BE INSPIRED. She said: “This is the first year we’ve run the competition and we’ve been really impressed with all of the entries. There have been some really creative ideas put forward by the students. One of the problems we have is that people don’t know what we do in the construction industry. This competition has been a great way to raise the profile of the industry and to let people know what the sector is all about and how you can get involved. There are lots of leaflets with wordy information about construction available but there isn’t much dynamic material. The visual nature of the competition is fantastic and really showcases the brilliant projects there are to get involved with.”

Team ‘Ignite’ scooped a cash prize and a chance to work with a professional filming company to develop their work. They also gained valuable insight into the workings of property and construction. The winning video can be viewed here.

Eva, a student at the university’s business school, said: “This competition has been brilliant to take part in. It has given me an amazing insight into the construction industry.”

Julian, an SADBE student, said: “It will be a useful thing to talk about at interviews. I want to go into property development and so this is some tangible experience I can discuss with future employers.”

Sponsors of BE INSPIRED included construction firm Laing O’Rourke, construction consultancy company Gleeds, consultancy and construction firm Mace, leading Midlands property agents Innes England, creative agency RizkMcCay and specialist construction PR agency Cartwright Communications.

MD of Innes England Tim Garratt said of the project: “It is clear that the construction industry is under pressure because of a shortage of skilled people. This competition is not only helping to address that – but it presents a piece of work which is a legacy and will continue to put the spotlight on the issue for many years to come.”

Gleeds recruitment manager and expert panellist for BE INSPIRED, Jackie Lister, commented: “The calibre of entries was extraordinarily high which made it incredibly hard to pick just one winner. What I found particularly pleasing was that each of the campaign entries highlighted the breadth of career options the construction industry has to offer. Meanwhile, the message that came back to us was that businesses may need to consider becoming more creative in their recruitment methods when it comes to attracting young people to the industry.”