Something changes when a young person lays a row of bricks or builds a bird box on a real construction site. They stop seeing construction as something other people do, and start to picture a place for themselves in it.
That’s the idea behind GROW (Glasgow Regional Opportunities for Work). It’s a skills programme led by employers and run by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). GROW works with S3 and S4 pupils from some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities. It helps them explore careers they might never have thought about and see the routes into them.
Original host from day one
McTaggart Construction is an original host of GROW, which started in January 2026. The programme covers Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde. Housing and construction is one of its eight themes.
We’ve committed to hosting one session in every block. So far we’ve run three, each with a group of around ten young people.
GROW builds on what we learned from Construction Aware, DYW Glasgow’s programme for pupils in the city. We helped design Construction Aware and have been an original host since it started in September 2024. We’ve hosted seven Construction Aware sessions to date.
Learning on a live site
Our GROW sessions have taken place at two of our live developments, Gallowhill and Howwood Road in Renfrewshire and at our training hub in Fenwick where we’re building new homes for Renfrewshire Council. The young people aren’t just watching from the sidelines. They work alongside our subcontractors on a live development. They see how tradespeople go about their day, how the different trades fit together, and what a modern construction site actually looks like.
Sustainability and biodiversity
For GROW, we’ve focused on sustainability and biodiversity. Many groups have taken part in our timber kit activity, which our sister company TOD Timber supports with a tour of its factory. Pupils see how timber frame homes are made off-site before they arrive on site, and why building this way matters for the environment.
We’ve also run a session where the group built bird boxes. It’s a hands-on way to talk about the biodiversity targets our industry now works to, and how new developments can support wildlife as well as people.
Leaving their mark
Our Construction Aware sessions follow the same hands-on approach. At Calton Village in Glasgow, pupils had a masterclass from our bricklayers and built a wall of their own. They also spent time with the joiners installing insulation and plasterboard.
When we work with subcontractors on these sessions, we ask that the young people get to work on the buildings themselves. In years to come they can drive past those homes and know they played a small part in building them.
Why it matters
Feedback from the pilots has been really encouraging. Every participant said they now had a better understanding of the scale and variety of the housing and construction sector. Pupils could name specific job roles and the school subjects and routes that lead to them. Just as importantly, they left more confident and more able to picture themselves working in the industry.
Scotland needs more people coming into construction. Programmes like GROW and Construction Aware make sure young people from every background get a real chance to find out whether it’s for them.
Alison McRae, senior director at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “Businesses have a vital role to play in helping young people understand the career opportunities available to them. Through GROW and Construction Aware, young people gain valuable insight into the world of work, connect with employers and explore future career pathways.
“With the construction sector continuing to face significant skills challenges, programmes like these are more important than ever. We are grateful to McTaggart Construction for their ongoing support of both programmes and their commitment to helping inspire the next generation while strengthening the future of the construction sector.”
Thank you to DYW, the schools, and our subcontractors and site teams who make these sessions happen.
