Young People Empowered for Careers in Construction by Axis Summer Workshop 

Axis Summer Workshop at Lewisham Park Towers Encourages Young People’s Bright Futures

On Friday 9th August, Axis facilitated a summer session for young people in the community which taught important life skills and encouraged personal development. 

30 young people aged between 8-16 came to the Hub at L&Q’s Lewisham Park Towers during one of ParentSkills2Go’s excellent skill programmes to find out about Axis, career skills and the construction industry. 

ParentSkills2Go is a local charity to Lewisham dedicated to teaching new skills and creating opportunities for families in the local community. Axis works in collaboration with ParentSkills2Go to offer sessions to residents of L&Q’s Lewisham Park Towers based on their wants and needs – including exercise sessions, health presentations and community walks. 

This summer session was a development on this collaboration. With Axis running an immersive day for all young people involved. 

The day started with an informative site tour by Contracts Manager Tanya Edwards. Tanya explained the work that Axis is doing on site at Lewisham Park Towers, the types of work the company engage in, and the history of the site and area.  

Tanya and the volunteer team also spoke about apprenticeships, work experience and job roles within the industry. One participant said, “today was very interesting as we got an insight into working on construction sites – useful as I may do construction in the future!” 

Axis was proud to continue the day with a Q&A session with Taydia Charles. Taydia is an L&Q resident and university student at Kings College London, currently pursuing a work placement with Axis. Taydia is a recipient of the Turlough O’Brien scholarship – which Axis passionately sponsors. Her knowledge and experience offered an invaluable insight into university and working for Axis.  

Following a lunch break, Vera and Chloe – Community Investment Coordinator and Human Resources Administrator – led a ‘Build-a-Bridge’ activity which gave the participants an opportunity to work together. The young people were encouraged to develop soft skills such as teamwork, communication, time management, leadership and problem solving. The activity was fun and engaging and all participants enjoyed and worked well as a team! 

Commenting on the event, Pamela Simpson, Operations Manager at Parentskills2go said, “A big thank you for a great day. The children had a great time, it was really interesting and informative. It was a great opportunity for them to get shown around the site by professionals. Some of the older ones are even thinking about construction as a career now”. 

By the end of the session, Lewisham’s young residents left with knowledge about Axis; but also left with inspiration for the future. Great work team!