Careers advice for students, teenagers and young adults

Choosing a career path and making your first steps in the world of work can be a difficult but exciting time. 

Know that you are not alone 

Being unsure of what you want to do when you leave school or college is quite common. But that is where careers advisers and Go Construct come in. We can help you understand what your strengths and weaknesses are, the kind of careers you may be suited to, and the opportunities available to get some work experience or training.  

Construction could be for you

When thinking about what job you want to do when you leave school, it is important to get some careers advice and guidance. If construction is an industry you think may suit your skills and interests, Go Construct can give you all the information you need about a career in construction.   

There are a wider range of job roles in construction than you might have realised. It’s not just about working on a building site! Browse our job roles to find out more about what you can do in the construction industry. You could be designing buildings, making sure they are built correctly, or even helping to restore them.  

Make use of the resources available 

There are lots of useful resources available at Go Construct to help you find out more about the world of work and careers in construction.  

Personality quiz  

If you want to know what kind of job would be right for you, Go Construct has a personality quiz you can take. This is an interactive quiz which asks questions about what TV shows you like, what you would do in a zombie apocalypse, your favourite apps and who you would most like to be followed on social media by – Cristiano Ronaldo or Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson? At the end you will see what career personality type you are! 

What’s it like to work in construction? 

There’s nothing better than hearing from real people who work in the construction industry day in, day out. What’s it like to be a quantity surveyor, civil engineer, CAD technician or site manager? How did they get into construction, what qualifications did they have and which qualifications did they acquire? Read these stories from people working in construction jobs across the UK. Find out how they got into the industry, what they do and tips on working in their fields.    

Try our career quiz  

Finding the right career path isn’t easy, but if you are interested in the construction industry, Go Construct has a career explorer quiz to find a role suited to your interests, skills and qualifications. It asks questions like:   

• Where would you like to work most?  
• Which areas of work interest you most?  
• What skills and qualifications do you have?  

Start with an apprenticeship

An apprenticeship is a proper job with training included. There are hundreds of rewarding apprenticeships for careers in the construction industry. Most careers for tradespeople – plumbing, electrical, bricklaying and plastering, for example – start with an apprenticeship. But there are many others you might not have heard of, like steeplejacking, conservation or tunnelling. Apprentices combine training with actually doing the job and, the best bit, getting paid!  

Traineeships are short courses which prepare you for the world of work and build the skills needed for an apprenticeship. They are a combination of learning and work experience and do not require any qualifications above GCSEs.