13 October 2005

Construction Week is a Blast!

National Construction Week, which gives young people the opportunity to experience the wide range of exciting opportunities available in the modern construction industry, got underway on Thursday 6 October (completing on Friday 14th). To ensure that young people have the broadest understanding of the world of construction, the quarrying industry invited schools to take up the offer of finding out how we source the materials used in the built environment.

A joint initiative between Bardon Aggregates, CEMEX, Tarmac, the Quarry Products Association and the Derbyshire Education Business Partnership, students from five schools across Derbyshire visited five quarries in the county on the first morning of Construction Week for a tour and the full low-down on quarrying and its importance to society. The visits marked the history and importance of the industry to the county of Derbyshire. And, as an exciting addition, but also serving to highlight an important part of the quarrying process, the children witnessed a blast as part of their visit at three of the sites, ensuring that the experience will live in the memory for a long time to come.

Another important element of the school's visit was to find out about the many possible career paths available to them after their study and to dispel the outdated myth that the industry is simply about hacking and hewing! The reality is that quarrying offers a myriad of job roles within an innovative modern industry. Aside from the planning, geotechnical and operational management roles that exist at the quarry itself, leading employers for the sector are looking for young people to take up other posts within the business that may not instantly spring to mind. These could include jobs in sales and marketing, human resources, administration and more.

Above all, however, the students gained an understanding of where the materials for their home, their school and even their own road originated. They also found out a few less obvious links between their local quarry and everyday life. For example, it came as a surprise that quarried limestone is used as an abrasive in toothpaste! This trip and the others that took place across the county revealed that quarries are more than just holes in the ground…

ENDS

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