McBains Grows Its Own!

Recognising that the shortage of current high skilled employees is as a result of years of underfunding/ lack of real-world opportunities in the construction industry, McBains has embarked on this programme with a view to ‘growing our own’, supporting emerging talent via the COYO/ DEC programme.

This is a 3-year commitment to the College, giving the McBains team time to get to know the students, supporting them in their development and career progression, as well as identifying those with a real passion and desire to progress in DEC, potentially leading to apprenticeships within the business.

COYO’s award-winning Design Engineer Construct! ('DEC') Learning Programme has gained a reputation as "the most innovative, challenging and relevant secondary school curriculum development in recent years".

DEC arms young people (and their teachers!) with knowledge and transferable skills for a career in a digital, sustainable and collaborative Built Environment, enabling them to understand the way that data and information is captured, used and shared through a range of systems, processes and advanced technologies.

Integrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths ('STEM') with Art and creativity ('STEAM'), and with clear impact on numeracy and literacy skills, DEC offers a wide range of curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities, for example:

• DEC Awards - exciting, short projects for clubs and other enrichment activities
• DEC Qualifications - accredited programmes of study at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels 1, 2 and 3 (with UCAS points)
• VWEx and WEME - virtual and traditional Work Experience programmes for older learners

From architects and civil engineers to surveyors and project managers, past students have accessed a wide range of technical and professional careers through apprenticeship and university pathways.

This week’s launch of the DEC programme at Hopwood Hall saw around 30 students introduced to their first project which involves considering alternative uses for a wonderful Grade 2 listed former Chapel on their Middleton Campus site. The Chapel, designed by Frederick Gibberd and Reynolds Scott, is thought to be a prototype for Gibberd’s Liverpool Cathedral. Presentations by McBains and COYO demonstrated how to think about site analysis, generate a brief and come up with ideas for its future use.

Asela Premachandra, who is leading the DEC initiative at McBains, said “There was genuine engagement from the students, who came up with some fantastic ideas during the day. We had a lot of fun engaging with them and look forward to the next series of workshops. We can’t wait to see how they progress and develop their ideas and skills”.