Following on from our site ‘talking tour’ of Bedminster Green’s regeneration as part of the placemaking and public art module of Design West’s Shape My City Programme , an award-winning talent accelerator, we had the opportunity to provide work experience for five young people at our Stafford Yard development in Bristol in June 2024 for 10 weeks.

Regional Construction Director David Merrills explains: “It is always a pleasure to provide opportunities for young people to gain some hands-on experience in what it’s like to work in the construction industry, and I’m grateful for the support we’ve also received from our supply chain in being able to deliver this.”

Our Bristol based team of professional apprentices, in partnership with Weston College and Shared Apprenticeships , has continued to expand their knowledge and experience day-by-day and are making excellent progress in their career path. Apprentice Site Supervisor Diana Stan changed career to join Dandara Living and had this to say about making the move to our industry: “My one piece of advice to other women considering a role in construction is to not be afraid to speak your mind and be confident in your decisions. Speaking from experience, I know this may be hard...but your confidence will grow with your knowledge. Trust the process!” Diana was recognised with a nomination for the Construction Partnership Award at this year’s Weston College’s Business Awards.

We are also working closely with local charities and mentors to introduce construction trades to 15-year-old students from the local area, who have experienced challenging circumstances or dropped out of the school system but have a desire to gain a trade background. By partnering them with ‘buddies’ we are helping them advance their knowledge of Health & Safety and develop new skills. It is very rewarding to see two of the students we have worked with accomplish their goals and take up full-time apprenticeships with a drylining company in Bristol.

Stride Treglown, one of our architect partners, brought some of their students to Stafford Yard for a site tour. The students had either completed their undergraduate course and were working towards their masters, were working towards their undergraduate course or were on a modern apprenticeship scheme. The visit provided a valuable on-site learning experience, including the opportunity to look at various stages of construction in progress and health and safety practices on site, raising awareness of the practical over the academic scenarios. They were able to better understand the role of the contractor, phasing and sequencing, and overall improving confidence in a new situation and facilitating good communication between contractors and consultant team.

We’ve also supported the Bristol Property Foundation Class, where Senior Development Manager, Zoe Sharpe has been mentoring first year GCSE pupils to provide them with an insight into the varied careers in the property sector and what it is like working on a project involving different elements which go into development. The Bristol Property Foundation Class is a collaboration between the Bristol Property Inclusion Charter, the University of the West of England, Bristol Works (Bristol City Council) and the Bristol Property Agents Association with support from Charter partner organisations, of which Dandara Living (Bristol Office) is one.

A key relationship we have developed is with Building Bristol and Bristol Works, which are set up and run by Bristol City Council. Building Bristol has supported us in fulfilling our employment and skills targets which form part of any major planning consent in Bristol by way of planning condition.

Additionally, the work we have been doing in Bristol has provided a pilot and platform for assessing what is possible across all our schemes in England and Scotland, enabling the relevant departments within Dandara Living - ESG, HR, Construction and Commercial – to create a business wide strategy for Employment and Skills targets and measures. It is hoped this will be rolled out by the end of 2024.