Building the Next Generation: LPL Construction Hosts Work Experience Day at Stansted Airport
July marks the first ever National Work Experience Month, a new annual campaign led by National Careers Week and its partners to champion the value of getting young people into real workplaces. It feels like the right moment to share a day we were proud to host last week.
At LPL Construction Services, we believe that investing in young people is one of the most important things we can do, not just as a business, but as part of the wider community we serve. We put that belief into practice recently by organising a work experience day for four young people from our local community, George, Lily, Ted and Katie, giving them a genuine behind-the-scenes look at how a major airport works and the range of careers that sit behind it.
The day was anchored around Stansted and its wider operations. Construction ran through everything we did, but the real aim was to open the group’s eyes to the scale and variety of work that keeps an international airport running.
A View from the Tower
We began at the top of the NATS Air Traffic Control Tower, where Daniel Pryce and his colleague Henry gave the group a genuinely fascinating overview of how aircraft are managed both on the ground and on approach to Stansted. The explanations of how controllers handle ground and air movements at the same time, and how operations adapt when areas of the airfield are closed for maintenance, were a real highlight.
At around 60 metres up, the viewing area also gave the group a superb vantage point across the entire airfield. From there they could see the localised construction sites at work below, including Farrans’ Skylinks project, which set up the next part of the day perfectly. Watching it all unfold in real time opened up rich conversations about the relationship between airport operations and live construction activity, the kind of insight no classroom can replicate.
On Site with Farrans
Following the visit to the tower, the group sat down with the Farrans Skylinks team, Site Manager Owen O’Hara and Site Engineer Fred Johnson. Both were brilliantly engaging, walking the group through the primary constraints on the works and explaining how the wider delivery team had come together to overcome them.
They also gave their time generously to the group’s questions, from “what is a typical day like?” to “how did you become an engineer?”. Owen and Fred answered each one fully and made sure everyone was happy before we moved on. Hearing first-hand about the realities of delivering major civil engineering works at a live, operational airport gave the group an understanding they simply could not get from a career’s presentation.
Meeting the LPL Team
Over lunch, our Undergraduate Quantity Surveyor, Stanley Hennessy, shared his own route into the industry, talking through the course and qualifications that opened the door to the scheme. It was a useful reminder that there is no single path into construction.
We then toured some of our Facilities Management projects in the International Departure Lounge, where our Senior FM Manager, Bradley Thomas, explained the nature of his work in the IDL: his client base, the type of projects involved, and the sheer number of concurrent works that he and his team coordinate and deliver safely every single day. Bradley was joined by our Health and Safety representative, Jo Pritchard, who shared the experience that brought her into the business and talked the group through how she oversees site activity with a health and safety eye. She explained how every activity has to be appropriately managed, all the more so given the huge numbers of passengers who pass our site hoardings every day.
With temperatures climbing into the mid-30s, we headed back to our Elsenham HQ for some well-earned refreshments and a cheeky ice cream. To close the day, the group spent time with one of our site supervisors, Joe Cardall. Joe kept everyone hooked with his own story: his late teens in construction, six years running his own work as a self-employed general builder, and his return to LPL Construction Services, where he is now happily progressing towards becoming a Construction Site Manager.
Why Work Experience in Construction Matters
The construction industry is facing a well-documented skills shortage. Attracting the next generation of talented, motivated young people into the sector is not just good for individual businesses, it is essential for the long-term health of the industry as a whole.
Days like this one play a vital role in bridging the gap between education and employment. They give young people the chance to test their curiosity, ask real questions of real professionals, and build an informed picture of what a career in construction might look like. For some, it confirms a direction they were already considering. For others, it opens doors they did not know existed. The feedback from George, Lily, Ted and Katie has been genuinely lovely, with the NATS tower, the Farrans site visit and the “meet the team” sessions all singled out.
Our Thanks
None of this happens without people giving up their time willingly and generously. A sincere thank you to Owen O’Hara and Fred Johnson at Farrans for facilitating our access to the Skylinks project and for the warmth with which they welcomed the group. Thank you also to Daniel Pryce and Henry at NATS, whose knowledge and hospitality made the tower visit one of the most memorable parts of the day.
A particular thank you to Kirsty Muir, who kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes, and to our QS, FM, H&S and site teams, Stanley, Bradley, Jo and Joe, who each made time to sit with the group and answer their questions with patience and enthusiasm. We were also pleased that one of our directors was able to spend the full day with the group, from the tower visit through to the closing session, a sign of how seriously we take this commitment.
Looking Ahead
The day worked so well that we are already thinking about how to build on it. Next time we hope to spread the experience across two days, giving the group even more time with the different departments across the business.
Supporting young people into the construction industry sits firmly within our CSR commitments, and it is something we are proud to champion. Whether through work experience placements, apprenticeship programmes or community engagement, we are committed to playing an active role in shaping the careers of the next generation of construction professionals.
The skills, knowledge and passion that drive our industry forward must come from somewhere. We believe it starts with moments like these: a group of young people standing at the top of an air traffic control tower, looking out over a live construction site, and beginning to imagine what their future might hold.
If you are interested in work experience opportunities with LPL Construction Services, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with our team to find out more.
