Loosemore, M and Bridgeman, J (2017) Can corporate volunteering help address the UK construction skills shortage? In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 33rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2017, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract
Despite the rapid growth of corporate volunteering in construction, there has been very little research in this area in the construction industry, particularly from the perspective of the recipients of such programs. To address this gap in knowledge, data was collected using surveys, reflective diaries and an outcomes measurement tool called a progress web, from 103 school pupils participating in one of the UK’s largest schools-based construction industry corporate volunteering programs. The results show that volunteering programs which actively partner industry professionals with students in a work related activity-based learning environment, can have a significant impact on the development of student construction industry knowledge, perceptions, career choices, aspirations and employability skills. This is particularly the case for female students. It is concluded that through schools-based corporate volunteering programs, the construction sector can not only significantly improve its image in the eyes of school students about to make career choices. Such programs can also offer schools an alternative pedagogical model to traditional classroom-based education, which puts learning and doing rather than teaching and knowing at the core of the student’s education. It is recommended that more research is needed to classify and understand the different types of volunteering programs that operate in the construction sector across multiple cohort groups and the factors that determine their success and failure. There is also a need for more research into what it means for the companies involved and for their staff who volunteer.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | corporate volunteering; social impact; social value; schools |
| Index terms: | social value, classroom, career, diary, program, corporate volunteering, social impact, construction industry, construction sector, employability, survey, volunteer, pupil |
| Subjects: | professional development, health safety and environment, software systems, human resources and leadership, industry analysis, sociology, practitioner, data collection methods, construction type |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Research Practice, Information Management, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here