We’ve just completed a fantastic week-long Work Experience Programme as part of the STEM Passport for Inclusion in partnership Bennett Construction.
Not only did we facilitate 12 female STEM Passport students, but we also welcomed 17 additional male students, and supported by the CIF, 20 students completed a SafePass Course.
Over five consecutive days, students were immersed in a meaningful blend of classroom learning, industry training, live site visits and factory-based engineering insights, including:
- Introductions to ambassadors from Bennett Construction and Shay Murtagh, with an overview of operations and career pathways.
- Completion of CIF Safe Pass training, giving students essential safety understanding for construction workplaces.
- A visit to Bennett’s Cromcastle Residential Development in Coolock, for the LDA, a live 146-unit site, where they engaged directly with engineers, managers, and the wider site team.
- A guided tour of the Shay Murtagh Precast manufacturing facility, featuring precast production demos, “role speed dating” across eight disciplines, and an Ask the MD session with Ciaran Murtagh
- The last day at Bennett HQ with a final networking session with team members from estimating, preconstruction, purchasing, marketing and HR. Students presented video highlights of their week to Joint MD, Paul Bruton, and had a celebratory close out with certificates, goody bags and pizza.
This collaborative model represents a significant step in the sector’s commitment to nurturing future talent and promoting rewarding, inclusive careers in construction. It provides meaningful engagement, demystifies the industry, and helps build a new, diverse pipeline of skilled talent.
A sincere thank you to our team and all in CIF and Bennett Construction – Lauren McCauley, Denise Bartley, Helena Kiernan and CIF’s Sean Downey – for helping to make this initiative such a success.
