Over 450 pupils from St Francis Primary School have taken part in a series of bespoke workshops at an award-winning development in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.
Regeneration specialists Urban Union — part of the Robertson Group — created a series of workshops and site visits designed to give pupils at a primary school close to its Laurieston Living development an insight into a variety of career paths construction offers and demonstrate the skills needed to work on a busy site.
The Urban Union team held two sessions every Thursday over a seven week period, with pupils taking part in a range of activities — from games, site tours and interactive workshops linking subjects taught in schools to different construction job roles to Q&A sessions on the regeneration project and construction more generally.
Mr Kerlin, Principal from St Francis Primary School, said: “The workshops held by Urban Union provided us with the opportunity to take our pupils out of the classroom and give a fresh perspective on why the skills they’re learning in the classroom are so important. Urban Union have provided us with the opportunity to inspire the next generation, in line with the work being done on ‘Developing the Young Workforce’ in St Francis.
“By giving behind the scenes access to the development, pupils are better able to understand how this will transform the area around our school and highlights the varied roles the construction industry offers that many would not have been aware of.”
Urban Union’s £140m revitalisation of the Gorbals area forms part of the wider Transforming Communities: Glasgow programme that aims to regenerate eight key neighbourhoods across the city.
173 homes are currently being developed as part of Phase 2 of the Laurieston Living development which is due to be completed by autumn 2021. In partnership with New Gorbals Housing Association, Urban Union has also delivered 364 affordable and private homes in the first phase of development.
Neil McKay, Managing Director of Urban Union, commented: “We place great importance on embedding Laurieston Living into the local community, from partnering with the likes of key cultural institutions such as the Citizens Theatre to engaging with local community groups.
“Not only do we want to keep people up-to-date with the progress of the development, we want to look at other ways the work we’re doing can benefit the community.
“By welcoming young people onto our construction site, we hope to have inspired some to think about a career in construction and demonstrate how the important skills they’re learning every day at school can one day be put into practice.”
