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A lack of diversity has long been one of construction鈥檚 most pronounced characteristics. Last year, a report by the Construction Industry Council found that 2% of the industry鈥檚 workforce came from an ethnic minority, and the presence of a woman or disabled person on a construction site is still pretty rare, despite years of campaigning to attract them to the sector. The recession has exacerbated the problem: with the workforce slashed, opportunities for workers outside traditional white, male backgrounds have receded even further.

In the current environment, if we don鈥檛 get the 16-25 year olds into employment now, the likelihood is they鈥檙e not going to experience a working environment

Mike peasland, prince鈥檚 trust

This pattern makes it all the more remarkable that the construction and business services arm of the Prince鈥檚 Trust, a charity responsible for introducing disadvantaged young people to industry, has seen a steady rise in the numbers attending its courses over the past year. The trust recruited 243 young people to its Get into Construction programme between April and December 2009, many from minority groups. A total of 23% of were from non-white ethnic minorities, 21% higher than the industry average, while 12% were disabled. It seems that even in the toughest job market in the last 20 years, the trust is making headway in opening doors to the sector.

But with pressure on the funding it gets from both the public and private sectors, the trust is now under more scrutiny than ever over the impact it is having on young people and the industry. Here, Prince鈥檚 Trust construction group chairman and Balfour Beatty group managing director Mike Peasland discusses the charity鈥檚 performance over his first nine months in charge - and explains why the economic crisis means that its work has never been more vital.

The trust鈥檚 role

Given that so many people have been made redundant from the construction industry since the recession began, it might seem that attracting new recruits to construction is a less pressing priority than at any other point in the past 20 years. But Peasland is adamant that this attitude stores up problems for the future.

鈥淚n the current environment, if we don鈥檛 get the 16-25 year olds into employment now, the likelihood is they鈥檙e not going to experience a working environment. If you鈥檙e, say, 40-plus and unemployed, you can be re-employed and understand what work is. But it鈥檚 going to be very difficult to get them into a job at 25-plus if they haven鈥檛 experienced work.鈥�

The Prince鈥檚 Trust exists to target disadvantaged young people, which means the benefits it can bring to the individuals themselves are striking (see case study). The fact that these young people are also often from outside construction鈥檚 traditional demographic means the trust also provides a route for the industry to vary its workforce.

鈥淎 lot of ethnic minorities tend to be disadvantaged,鈥� says Peasland. 鈥淲ithin the figures we鈥檝e released [last April to December], 23% of participants were from an ethnic minority, so it鈥檚 helpful in trying to make our industry a bit more diverse.鈥�

The fact that the trust鈥檚 averages for recruiting young people from minority backgrounds is so high compared to the industry averages is, Peasland argues, not just down to its specialised target markets.

鈥淚 think there is a comfort factor - it鈥檚 more of a nurturing environment. It is much more daunting for a youngster to make that first call to a company, for instance, than it is to approach the trust. Especially when a lot are in positions where for one reason or another they may have lost their confidence. They need to have that restored, and that鈥檚 where the trust comes in.鈥�

Winning over the industry

The growing reputation the trust has within the industry is illustrated by the fact it has taken on nine new backers in the past year, bringing its total industry membership to 37 - a mixture of construction firms, support services companies, lawyers and suppliers.

Part of the reason for this support is that the scheme can demonstrate a high level of success from its participants. Some 73% of its recruits continued in education, training or employment between April and December 2009. The work placements that form part of the programme help ensure that students can cope with a live construction environment - an area frequently criticised in other courses - and it also gives employers the opportunity to vet potential recruits. 鈥淚 think when companies see these youngsters at first hand they see the potential in them,鈥� says Peasland.

Winning over the government

Despite the trust鈥檚 successes, Peasland is realistic about the continuing threat the economic climate poses to the initiative鈥檚 success. The most obvious impact is in the area of financing - public sector money currently provides a substantial part of the trust鈥檚 construction group鈥檚 拢1m annual budget. 鈥淲e鈥檒l have to look for more private sector funding, but also sell ourselves more to the public sector so they can really see the benefit of what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�

The trust is also adapting its programmes to the new economic reality. Peasland says he is looking at the possibility of reducing the cost of running courses to make the membership fees paid by industry 鈥済o as far as they can鈥�. And although the programme covers the whole of the UK, 鈥渋ncreasingly a major endeavour鈥� is to run the programmes only where the industry believes there will be jobs for the next two to three years. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to set people up to fail,鈥� he says.

For more information on how you can be involved with the Prince鈥檚 Trust contact Sarah Hertzog on 0207-5431 261