Warden Construction site visit inspires Preston’s College students

Students from Preston’s College have been given a ‘construction taster’ by attending a site visit at Little Hulton Health Centre, hosted by main contractor Warden Construction.

The new £4.6 million integrated Salford health hub, designed to BREEAM Excellent standard, was showcased to 15 HNC in Construction students who left their classroom for the day to experience work on a live Considerate Constructors Scheme site.

Following the site induction by Senior Site Manager, Lee Saville, the students were keen to get a taste of ‘real-life’ on a construction site and were presented with construction plans, project programme, risk assessment and method statements, and then took a tour of the site to see the steel frame being erected.

Also in attendance on the day was Assistant Site Manager, Shaune Hilton and Assistant Quantity Surveyor, Tom Shepherd. Both current students at Preston’s College, Shaune and Tom are now successfully progressing their careers at Warden which provided the perfect opportunity for first-hand vocation advice for the group.

Richard Kenworthy, Managing Director at Warden Construction, commented “We were keen to reach out to Preston’s College to provide an opportunity for students in the North West to experience this live construction site. We also wanted to help the group develop a broader knowledge and understanding of our industry and promote the development of young aspiring leaders within construction. With Shaune and Tom sharing their career experiences on the day, we trust the site visit really does encourage the next generation to repeat their proven success.”

Mark Taylor, Head of School Construction & the Built Environment at Preston’s College, stated “As a College we are committed to help support and grow construction in the local area and we are working with equally committed employers, such as Warden Construction, to ensure that the construction industry has a continual supply chain of work-ready learners; to help upskill and progress career ambitions within the construction industry.

“We are privileged and honoured to have worked with Warden and are thankful to them for inviting our students to gain an in-depth insight into this industry, to look at construction planning and to take a tour of the site on the day.”

The new health hub, which has been funded by NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Salford Primary Care Together (SPCT) and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, will serve around 13,000 of the Little Hulton population, bringing together podiatry, speech and language therapy and diabetes clinics along with a smoking cessation service and mental health services.