Avison Young has held a pilot event to engage with young people and promote the many career opportunities that exist in the property sector. The commercial real estate agent partnered with logistics real estate giant, Prologis, to take pupils from Bilton School in Rugby to their Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT), one of the UK's largest warehouse developments, to deliver a day of engagement.

The day acted as a pilot for the business' wider schools initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the opportunities available in the industry to a wider demographic, helping to diversify the talent pool.

The session with Prologis and Bilton School was facilitated by Jake Pygall, Director at Avison Young. Jake led the event on behalf of Avison Young, with the aim of showcasing the available routes to enter the industry. Currently, many young people are recruited from university, with over 22,000 graduates in 2022 qualifying in architecture, building, and planning*. The industry also offers apprenticeships which offers an attractive alternative with learning being funded by the employer and a salary being paid. This can be particularly attractive to young people who are concerned about the financial burden of a full-time degree.

During the day students were given an insight into the many roles within the commercial property industry including industrial and logistics, planning, building surveying, rating, property management and retail. The talks were delivered by colleagues specialising in these areas, who displayed passion for their role, as well as the different ways they started their careers. Speakers included Chris Proctor MRICS, Associate Director, and Max Andrews MRICS, the first apprentice Surveyor to complete Avison Young's apprenticeship programme.

The students were given a tour of the Prologis site, showcasing the work that is being done on the project. They were also taken through routes into the industry, including an in-depth discussion on apprenticeships, followed by a fireside chat with a panel, and an opportunity to ask questions.

Jake Pygall, said:

"Our ambition is for the Avison Young schools initiative to be a key element in achieving diversity across our industry. Currently, many young people are not aware of the various pathways to start a career in the sector. Whilst there are some fantastic graduate programmes, there are alternative routes into a career in property, such as apprenticeship schemes, which combine work and study, allowing the development of practical skills whilst earning a salary.

"The issue we have is that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds simply don't know about these roles and programmes. We want to drive change in the industry. This type of engagement with young people is already happening in sectors like tech, gaming and health and life sciences, so it's time for Avison Young to lead the way, making a real, long-term change in the property sector. It was fantastic to engage with the students, talk to them about the variety of roles available in the sector and get them excited about the future."

Liz Allister, Real Estate & Customer Experience Manager at Prologis added:

"We were so happy to be able to partner with Avison Young on their pilot skills initiative day. We hosted the day at DIRFT, and this was an exciting environment for the students to be in, as we were able to break up the talks with tours of the site."

Siobhan Loydall, teacher at Bilton School echoed the success of the day:

"We are so grateful to the team at Avison Young and Prologis for putting together such a fantastic experience.

"Our students took so much valuable information away with them, and the day really raised their aspirations and opened their minds to the world of work."