Minister for Industry at Bircham Newton

The Minister for Industry, Lee Rowley, has been in West Norfolk watching next generation construction workers turning theory into practice.

The newly-appointed minister, together with North-West Norfolk MP James Wild, toured Constructionarium, at Bircham Newton.

During his visit he said that the UK needs a "multi-disciplinary approach if it is to stay competitive and deliver a workforce that can meet the government’s priority of decarbonising the Built Environment at speed."

The Minister said “The Constructionarium is an inspiring facility which shares our priorities on providing skills and experience to those entering a trade. With demand high, there has never been a better time to consider a career in construction.

"This industry has a vital role to play in helping our economy grow and it is through initiatives such as Constructionarium that we can ensure the next generation of people entering the workforce have the skills to improve the sector in the coming decades."

The two MPs met students from the University of Salford who, working in teams, were hard at work constructing a 30ft version of Ove Arup’s Kingsgate Footbridge (which spans the River Wear in Durham) and a scaled replica of the Millennium Gallery based in Sheffield.

James Wild said: “Constructionarium is an exemplar organisation which has listened to the needs of the industry, academia and government and is taking proactive steps to move the dial on the net zero agenda. It was great to have the construction minister in West Norfolk to see the training facilities here to help the next generation gain valuable experience.”

The pair of MP’s were invited by Constructionarium to see the site in action and to discuss its plans for developing their site into a multi-disciplinary training facility.

Julia Stevens, CEO of Constructionarium, had briefed the party about Constructionarium’s history. Established to address a skills gap for graduates entering the industry with no site experience, it now sees in excess of 800 students a year. It has a portfolio of large scaled replicas of iconic projects, such as The Gherkin, Millau Cable Bridge, Barcelona Tower etc, which are constructed in a week and provides real context to the learning undertaken at college and university; alongside providing a raft of personal and employability skills.