Hobson & Porter engages with school pupils as construction work hits halfway milestone

Some of the pupils looking at the new building taking shape.

LOCAL school children have been taken behind the scenes of Hobson & Porter’s construction of the multi-million pound Aura Innovation Centre at Hessle’s Bridgehead Business Park.

The region’s award-winning construction firm is halfway through the building work of the purpose-built facility for the University of Hull.

When complete the Aura Innovation Centre will provide large businesses and SMEs with the space to collaborate and innovate to deliver low-carbon energy and clean growth.

Alongside the hard work on site, staff from Hobson & Porter have been engaging with more than 120 pupils, mainly from All Saints’ CE Federation in Hessle, who have been donning the hard hats and high-vis and learning about construction and wind energy.

Richard Hunter, Hobson & Porter’s managing director, said: “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed engaging with local school children through various site visits and involving them in activities relating to the construction and renewable energy sectors.

“The visit’s form part of our Foundations initiative, which aims to create a sustainable workforce for the construction industry – educating, developing and upskilling the next generation in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

“The construction industry accounts for approximately 3 million jobs which equates to 10% of total UK employment. Our initiative aims to introduce pupils to the wealth of careers opportunities available across the construction industry, which is currently desperately seeking young workers to address the skills shortage. The Aura project combines this with exposure to the Renewables sector, which is also growing at an exciting rate, so this dual-industry engagement is massively important to our region.”  

Since the Hobson & Porter’s formation in 1971, the company has been at the heart of the region’s changing economic conditions, from the decline of the fishing industry through to the current exciting growth of the offshore renewables sector.

In the latter, the company has delivered several multi-million pound projects for Ørsted, including the new offshore operations base and warehouses to service their Westermost Rough Wind Farm; and more recently The East Coast Hub at Grimsby’s Royal Docks, a facility for the operations and maintenance of offshore wind farms.

Richard added: “The Aura Innovation Centre is our eighth scheme in the offshore energy sector, which is remarkable considering we have never stepped foot offshore.

“Through the changing economic tides we have always prospered and continue to support the Humber region with high-quality building projects.

“The Aura Innovation Centre will be just that, playing a huge role in strengthening the Humber’s reputation as a leader in offshore wind innovation, bringing together the major players in the industry.”

Ben George, Director of Aura, said: “It has been fantastic to see local children at an early age visit the Aura Innovation Centre and learn more about renewable energy – the energy of the future.

“The visit to the Aura Innovation Centre has given pupils of All Saints’ CE Federation a unique experience. We hope that they are enthused and inspired to find out more about sustainable energy sources as the region transitions to a net zero carbon future.”

Construction of the centre is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.