Morgan Sindall is to help develop school lessons that turn the spotlight on the diverse range of career opportunities in construction.

The move comes as the company has become the first construction firm to partner with Developing Experts, an education platform that is revolutionising how children learn how STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) applies to the world of work. 

Developing Experts connects talent to future employers through lessons, online resources and a careers library. 

It provides more than 6,500 schools with a continually growing resource of over 1,000 interactive lessons with embedded experiments, handouts, assessments and industry and career links. 

Its resources are fully mapped against multiple curricula, including the science national curriculum for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. 

Morgan Sindall is joining other industry leaders including Network Rail, Rolls Royce SMR, Oxford University and government departments in becoming a Developing Experts partner. 

As part of this collaboration, Morgan Sindall will develop a bespoke set of lessons that reflect the diverse range of careers available in construction and help children, teachers and parents better understand how construction relates to their everyday lives. 

The curriculum Morgan Sindall will develop will also incorporate its ongoing partnership with the Carbon Literacy Project, with lessons on the role that individuals, and the construction industry, can play in protecting the planet for future generations. 

Pat Boyle, Morgan Sindall Construction’s managing director: “This partnership is all about helping to get young people excited about the built environment, and as they progress in to secondary school, to open their eyes to the opportunities available to them in a wide variety of careers as they start to consider their paths to employment. 

“Those of us who work in the industry know how rewarding it can be when we see buildings come to life, and we want to inspire young people to get interested and involved. 

“The Developing Experts team has created a dynamic and effective way that empowers teachers to bring a variety of industries and career opportunities to life for young people.” 

The platform will also help Morgan Sindall create a community of young people who have an interest in construction and the built environment to offer further support, opportunities to learn, and to participate in activities such as its Virtual Work Experience programme. 

In doing so, the company will continue its work in promoting greater diversity in construction while addressing the industry’s ongoing skills shortage. 

Developing Experts’ founding director and CEO, Sarah Mintey MBE, said: “The team at Developing Experts is delighted to be working with Morgan Sindall Construction, its first construction firm to be featured in its science lessons. 

“The world of construction offers so many opportunities to young people so to feature careers from one of the UK's leading brands is exciting.”

Boyle added: “With Developing Experts, we want to address the preconceptions that can stop people entering our industry, and ensure the next generation has a more rounded view of the built environment. 

“We will show that for construction in 2022, computers are just as important as concrete. We will also demonstrate that they could take our industry forward through the use of new technology such as robotics, 3D printing, AI and technological advances we do not even know about yet.”