Seddon

The construction industry is one of the largest workforces in the UK economy.

One of the most valuable qualities about the construction sector is that it encompasses a vast variety of roles - there is literally something for everyone! Few sectors have the same potential to provide large numbers of high-skilled, well-paid jobs and because the industry is so vital there is never a shortage of opportunity.

According to a Construction Skills Network (CSN), 266,000 additional construction workers will be required to meet UK construction demands by 2026 that’s a staggering 53,200 workers per year.Seddon employs over 600 people across the Northwest and Midlands in a wide variety of roles including tradespeople, support roles, construction delivery professionals and apprenticeships. Listed as one of the UKs top 100 apprenticeship employers of 2022, Seddon continues to pave the way for new professionals to enter the industry. On 20th March 2023, Seddon facilitated an Apprentice Recruitment Open Day at the University of Bolton Stadium. This full day event provided the opportunity for people hear more about careers in construction and the apprentice roles available at Seddon.

Education & Training

The Seddon Apprentice Recruitment Open Day was a fantastic way of engaging those interest in working in the construction industry and offered many opportunities in one convenient location! Local colleges, such as Salford City College, Bolton College and The University of Bolton, along with construction professionals, were on hand to offer valuable education and career advice, chatting with attendees throughout the day.This helped to provide attendees with a general idea of the routes that are available to them that they may take to help them develop their skills and achieve qualifications that improve their chances of future employment in construction.

Various T-Levels are now available, which are an alternative to A-Levels and offer an opportunity to train in certain related roles. Likewise, apprenticeships are widely accessible to help attendees hopefully pursue a wide variety of careers in construction. College and University courses are also widely available. These put candidates in an excellent position for entering the job market after their studies. In fact, these avenues usually provide on-site work experience, allowing students to hit the ground running

Supply Chain Partners

Seddon’s continued dedication to apprenticeships extends beyond our own company to also include our supply chain. We strongly feel that supply chain collaboration has the potential to unlock solutions for some of today’s most pressing business challenges, especially in terms of recruitment. As a result, in 2022, we launched the CITB Club, a support group established by Seddon in collaboration with CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) to provide supply chain partners with ongoing up-to-date support regarding recruitment, training, grant applications and specifically support in the recruitment and training of apprentices.

The Seddon Apprentice Recruitment Open Day provided attendees with the unique opportunity to connect with our local supply chain partners, who were also on-site and hoping to engage with potential future recruits. Partners provided information about training, salary and benefits, and even share their trade personal experience working within their particular areas of expertise. There are lots of specialities within the construction industry, so it was a fantastic to be able to enable attendees to network with a variety of experts with access to different routes and roles within construction.

Benefits of the Seddon Recruitment Open Day

Impact on Applicants

Enabled applicants to learn more about the construction industry
Provided an opportunity to ask the experts about practical steps for the future.
Provided face to face interaction with a potential employer.
Gave the applicant the chance to demonstrate what they have offer.
Provided the opportunity to network and ask more questions
Opened attendees’ eyes to new professional possibilities.
Enabled attendees to learn how to be professional.
Boosted an applicants chances of walking away with a job.

Impact on Seddon & Supply Chain Partners

Allowed existing employees to demonstrate the Seddon culture in action.
Engaged those attendees interested in Seddon.
Offered access to a large pool of talent.
Improved candidate quality.
Offered the opportunity to meet outstanding candidates.
Expanded the network of available recruiters.
Boosted Seddon brand awareness.
Created stronger working relationships between Seddon and Supply Chain Partners.

Key stats..

380 people attended the Seddon Recruitment Open Day
765 people expressed an interest in the apprenticeship roles
693 people applied for the apprenticeship roles
60 people were shortlisted to interview
17 people were successfully recruited and start their journey as a Seddon Apprentice in August 2023