Cardiff school children recently experienced a day of fun with industry professionals and a mascot from the construction industry, however careers and an important talk about site safety were the highlights of the lesson.

JG Hale Construction visited St Patrick’s R.C. Primary School in Cardiff to help educate its children about the dangers of construction sites, as well as some of the exciting careers available in the industry.

The visit was organised in relation to a new development near the school on Penarth Road, which Hale are constructing on behalf of Taff Housing Association, a housing association committed to Building Foundations for Better Futures.

Throughout the day, the children were lucky enough to meet ‘Honor Goodsite’, a mascot for the construction industry created by the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS).  She helped educate the children about various hazards on building sites and the personal protective equipment (PPE) used by construction workers.

The pupils were given the opportunity to try on hard hats and high-vis jackets themselves while Gerwyn Landrygan, project manager at JG Hale Construction, was also on-hand to answer any questions from the children about the construction industry.

David Harrhy, managing director of JG Hale Construction, said:

“Our visit to St Patricks R.C. Primary School was a perfect chance to see what the younger generation think about construction and its industry. It was great to hear so much enthusiasm from the children, especially when teaching them the valuable lessons about how to be safe around construction sites. We recently ran a poster competition at Coedffranc Primary School in Neath, with the similar aim of teaching children about the hazards present at construction sites. Our hope is to do similar visits to other schools in the future to encourage more children to consider careers within the construction industry.”

Mrs Swain, acting head teacher of St Patricks R.C. Primary School, said:

“This was a great opportunity for the children to learn about the dangers of building sites. Honor is a larger than life character so I’m sure they will remember her and her message about how to stay safe if they are close to a building site in the future.”