NHBC Foundation uses LEGO to encourage careers in the building industry
Posted by Huw,
Research conducted by the UK's National House Building Council (NHBC) Foundation has revealed that kids are not being encouraged to pursue a career in the house building industry.
To showcase the career possibilities in the industry and to change the misconceptions surrounding house building, a video using LEGO models built by Brickset member Gary Davis, aka Bricks for Brains, has been produced:
After the break you read how Gary came to work on it, and what he was required to do, as well as the full NHBC Foundation press release.
"The animation was produced by Blueprint Film Ltd, based in Bethnal Green, London. They were looking for a LEGO artist and I was recommended to them by a fellow Brickish member. I was given the script and asked to produce all the sets and props in LEGO, and provide a cast of some 200 LEGO minifigs, many of which specified in the script by trade, gender and ethnicity. I built a preliminary version of the architect's office for the production company to try some test shots, then it was into full production.
"There were 5 main sets and 6 or 7 other elements. The main set was a house which was built to match the front elevation of a real house filmed on location in Milton Keynes. The house had a removable front wall to reveal the interior rooms, each of which featured one of the trades being promoted in the film, for example a carpenter, a plasterer etc.
"There were also two building sites, one with foundations being dug by two fighting diggers and another with bricklayers and surveyors at work. The sleek architect's office interior was complimented by a busy planner's office interior.
"The LEGO bird crashing into a LEGO cloud was one of several humourous clips in the production. The new house owners, shown right at the end, were modelled to match real actors who were shot on location, but the poor actors didn't make the final cut."
Parents are not doing enough to encourage children into house-building, new research from the NHBC Foundation finds.
Four out of ten parents (42%) say that they would not encourage their children aged 11 or over to pursue a career in the house-building industry, according to new research by the NHBC Foundation.
The findings have raised concern that a lack of parental support may be preventing youngsters from pursuing a hugely rewarding career in one of the UK’s most successful and thriving industries at a time of huge demand for high quality new homes.
The NHBC Foundation, the research arm of NHBC, the UK’s leading home warranty and insurance provider, has launched a new online Lego film aimed directly at young people to highlight the many benefits of a career in house-building including: great training opportunities, wide career choice with good earning potential and rewarding work creating a lasting legacy.
It follows NHBC Foundation’s A Career of Choice: attracting talented young people into house-building report, published last year, which found that the UK house-building industry needs to challenge misconceptions if it is to attract and recruit young people.
When asked about house-building, young people could often identify jobs in the trades such as bricklaying and plumbing but, apart from architecture, were largely unable to identify technical, professional and managerial job areas.
It found that the poor image of house-building remains a challenge to recruitment with more than a quarter of young people citing it as a barrier. Other issues relate to a lack of information about careers and a perceived lack of professional and managerial opportunities.
But when young people – particularly girls - were given positive, factual information about the wider benefits of house-building, many felt much more interested in considering it as a career.
The new online LEGO film from the NHBC Foundation aims to showcase the wide range of career options available to young people and encourages them to visit the Home Building Federation’s comprehensive House-Building Careers online resource.
Research from the CITB has found great opportunities for career progression with 38% of people entering the industry as apprentices reaching manager level. Seven out of 10 people who enter construction spend their whole working lives in the industry.
People joining the industry have the opportunity to work for some of the most successful companies in the UK - there are currently four major house-building companies listed in the FTSE 100.
With unprecedented levels of demand for high quality new homes across the UK, the house-building industry is experiencing an acute skills shortage. With the most recent ONS figures showing that there are 20,000 current vacancies across the industry, now has never been a better time to begin a career in the sector.
A ComRes poll of 1,064 parents found that parents could do more to encourage their children to pursue a career in the house-building industry. 29% of parents said they would not be likely to encourage children under 10 into the house-building industry. But this increases to 42% once their children are aged 11 or over – showing a marked shift in attitudes from parents as their children get closer to the age when they decide on a career path.
The research found that the majority of parents believe ‘good pay’ and ‘opportunities for career progression’ are the most important factors for children to have in their career (60% say this for each), followed by doing something worthwhile (51%).
NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said: “House-building is a hugely rewarding career which offers good salaries, great opportunities and creates a legacy which will last for generations.
“Parents play a major role in influencing and informing their children about future career choices. We hope that our new online film encourages more parents and young people to consider a career in one of the UK’s most thriving and successful industries.
“With demand for high-quality new houses at high levels, there has never been a better time to begin a career in house-building.”
24 likes
3 comments on this article
Nice animation
Love that model of the house
Will try to moc it
Outrageously expensive, ludicrously small interiors, rehashes of old designs...
^ Lol :D