“When I was picking my GCSE options I was thinking about the opportunities that would come afterwards, such as apprenticeships. With a career in construction I was able to get my degree whilst I was working and learning on the job. – it offered loads of benefits.
The course is really good fun but also gives you a great picture of what the industry would be like to work in. We worked closely with Laing O’Rourke – including a work experience placement – it was a subject that offered everything in one package. Another thing that was great – and different from my other subjects – was that we were able to pick our own project to focus on – something that we were interested in. I chose to design an equestrian centre and some of the boys designed a football stadium.
My experience with DEC definitely helped me to land my first job. I walked through the door as a 16-year-old girl and I had a portfolio of work that I had done on industry standard software and had a good grounding in the principles of engineering as well. I achieved my professional accreditation at 18 when I had been in the industry for 18 months – typically it takes three years to get that – but I was able to do it more quickly because of the experience I got with DEC.”
Consult source here.