How do we get more young people excited about the plant sector

How do we get more young people between 12 to 18 excited about the plant sector?

Give them a challenge, a team and create a unique industry competition to build a working material handler showcased to thousands at PlantWorx Construction Exhibition 2025 in Newark on 23rd - 25th September.

And that is exactly what the newly launched 'Rethinking Futures' is all about. To find out more, Peter Haddock spoke to Stuart Favill, who is heading up the programme. Stuart: "With Rethinking Futures, we are trying to bridge the skills gap by engaging with young people through educational institutions and linking them with industry leaders to inspire their minds.

"With a focus on apprenticeships, training, and recruitment, Rethinking Futures also aligns with government objectives and supports schools in meeting Gatsby benchmarks.

"On a practical level students will be tasked to design, build, and test machinery inspired by equipment such as grab lorries, excavators, and cranes.

"Throughout the programme, they will be equipped with the necessary tools and materials and will gain hands-on experience emphasising creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving.

 "Their projects will be evaluated by judges from the sector, giving students a unique opportunity to present their work to experts and explore potential career paths.

“Rethinking Futures is all about igniting a passion for engineering and construction in young people when fresh talent is crucial.” 

"We already have educational institutions signing up, and we are looking for more to take part. Being an industry-focused initiative, we are also looking for businesses to support us with sponsorship to bring the challenge to as many young people as possible." To find out more, get in touch with Stuart, and you can also visit https://plantworx.co.uk/show-news/ret...