For those that don’t know, Go Construct is an industry initiative, funded and facilitated by CITB, to attract, inform and retain talented people in the Construction and Built Environment sector.

Working with employers, education providers and federations, Go Construct is designed by industry for the industry.

Last week, just a few days after marking its first anniversary, Go Construct won a prestigious design award.

Beating the world-renowned Gü Puds and Guardian Holidays to the ‘User Experience and Design’ prize at the Masters of Marketing Awards, is a momentous achievement.

Winning the award for “User Experience and Design” is even more special and recognises not just the website design but also the journey that has been taken to get where we are now.

It proves that we, as an industry, are on the right path in making a difference to attracting more people into construction.

Our co-design process has been significant. Involving over 400 industry employers and stakeholders in the design of the website has been crucial to its success.  

It really shows what can be achieved when we all come together and work collectively for the greater good of the construction industry.

Where it all began

I recall a day around two years ago when I convened a workshop with CITB colleagues from England, Scotland and Wales to understand what the key issues and potential solutions were around attracting and supporting people to join our industry.

I left that workshop with a page saying ‘inspire, discover, experience, join’. Those words have stuck with me ever since and became the key elements of developing a supportive set of solutions to help people to be inspired about a career in construction, then discover the wide range of opportunities we have to offer. How we then help people to experience our industry and then join us.

Following that workshop CITB reached out to employers, federations, educators to test and confirm what needed to be done and refine the collective action approach to co-design, co-invest and co-deliver a set of solutions .

Before we knew it, together we began developing the Go Construct initiative and website around those four words.

To see that this has now evolved into an award winning website, which has attracted half a million visits in just over a year, is an incredible triumph!

But this is just the start.

Play your part

We are only a year into what will be a long journey. There is so much more to come from Go Construct and you can be a part of it. Whether you’re an employer, employee, educator, or anyone involved in the industry – you can be at the forefront of Go Construct’s success.

You could:

• Download and use the resources on Go Construct to use in your engagement activities with target audiences and promote the industry using our collective advertising space on materials you are using for activities, initiatives, site hoardings and vehicles.
• Provide good stories from your experience in construction for the website
• Join our co-design groups
• Spread the word and promote the industry via your social media channels. Follow and share Go Construct posts on Facebook (facebook.com/goconstructuk) , follow and share twitter posts (@GoConstructUK) and Instagram (@GoConstructUK)

Plus much more…

I personally cannot thank all those who have contributed enough, and this award is a credit to them all.

We want the Masters of Marketing Award to be the first of many, so please get in touch and make a difference to your industry!  

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