Our Skanska Takeover Day began as a simple idea and grew into an inspiring experience for more than 250 learners across the school. Members of the Skanska Senior Leadership Team joined seven classes throughout the day, bringing real-world industry context directly into the classroom and showing learners how their education connects to future careers. 

Learners from Year 10 through to Sixth Form had the chance to explore engineering, commercial decision-making, problem solving and project planning through the lens of one of the UK’s major construction and infrastructure companies. For our Year 12 T Level learners, the day included focused sessions on CV writing and interview techniques, giving them valuable preparation for their upcoming industry placements. 
It was also a privilege to showcase our college to one of our founding sponsors and to demonstrate how we prepare future engineers and technicians with both technical knowledge and essential professional skills. 
One of the highlights of the day came from our learner voice. Ada, a Year 10 Engineering learner, shared her reflections: 
“We talked about how commercial decision-making works in construction, including understanding costs, ratios, resourcing and comparing different options to choose the most effective solution. It was really interesting to see how the maths we learn in class actually links to real engineering projects. Thank you to Skanska for the insight, and to London Design and Engineering UTC for arranging the session.” 
The Skanska team also spoke about the value of the partnership: 
“Our team from Skanska got a lot out of the day. I’m glad the learners were able to gain insight into how what they are studying at London Design and Engineering UTC is transferable to industry. Good luck with the rest of your studies, and I hope that what they saw and learnt during the Skanska Takeover encourages them to join our industry in the not-too-distant future.” 
 — Graham Ashley, Divisional Director at Skanska 
We extend our thanks to everyone from Skanska and LDE UTC who made the day such a success. A special thank you goes to Fran from Skanska for her tireless work behind the scenes. 
We are already looking forward to building on this momentum and making the Skanska Takeover an annual event. 

If your organisation is interested in supporting our learners through employer engagement, masterclasses or industry projects, we would love to collaborate. 
 Get in touch with our Head of Partnerships at [email protected]