The booking process for Open Doors 2023 is now open.
Young people and those seeking a career change will have the opportunity to visit construction sites across Great Britain from Monday, 13 March, through Saturday, 18 March, 2023.
There are a variety of career opportunities available within the construction industry, and Open Doors provides a unique insight into the field.
It is anticipated that more than 150 construction sites, offices, factories, and training centers across England, Scotland, and Wales will be open for Open Doors this year. This will showcase hundreds of different occupations.
Visitors can book their place to go behind the hoardings on a range of projects that include hospitals, schools, universities, theatres, libraries, viaducts, and production and training facilities.
It is the vision of Build UK, in collaboration with a number of partners, to deliver Open Doors, which aims to change perceptions about construction and to encourage the next generation to explore the opportunities within the industry. It focuses in particular on the progress made by the industry towards flexible working and helping the UK reach net zero carbon emissions.
Open Doors is a great way to see that construction is for everyone, according to Suzannah Nichol MBE, Chief Executive of Build UK. “You can’t beat going to a construction site and seeing it in action. Check out what’s going on in your neighbourhood, book your visit today, and find out what a career in construction has in store for you,” she said.
As Suzanne Hardy, Mace’s Head of Social Value (Construct), explains: “Finding your first step into the world of work is more important than ever, and Open Doors is the perfect place to see just how many diverse career paths there are in construction, from hands-on building trades to design, architecture, finance, and sales and marketing.
We already have multiple visits planned with schools across our projects, so we know people have a real desire to learn more about the industry, understand the vital role it plays in the economy, and discover the opportunities available to them.”
A hoisting system is then used to lift the platform up under the bridge together with a payload of equipment, plant, materials, and scaffold. Once in place, bracing can be applied to stop sway and the scaffold can be quickly and safely punched up from the ScaffFloat beams to give access to the top side of the bridge for contractors.
If needed, encapsulation or netting can also be added to capture any paint or debris released during the planned works. When works are complete the platform can then be lowered to the water and re-positioned, or if needed multiple platforms can be placed side by side.
Toby Budd, MD of ScaffFloat said “ScaffFloat has come a long way since it was launched two years ago. The system has really proved itself now and we have completed over 50 projects and provided 5,000 hours of safe floating access to contractors around the UK and abroad. This suspended offering is another big step forward for the system, really exciting.”
He added “We are specialists in floaty things and recognise where our strength lies. This is why we now partner with Richter and 48.3 on a project like this, they do what they are good at: making sure the design meets all industry standards and if necessary they can provide a Cat 3 check, and we do the floaty and hoisting bit on site and make sure it all goes to plan.”
Mark Parkin from 48.3 said “We have been working with the ScaffFloat system for over a year now. We can see a real opportunity for this suspended platform and hope this partnership will be a good fit for our clients. We can offer scaffolders and principal contractors a turnkey service on the access design and temporary works, as well as the design for the ScaffFloat and hoist system. We can also carry out the analysis on the bridge structure and certify the connection points needed.”
ScaffFloat say they are all about partnership working to deliver value. They work with a number of forward-thinking scaffold companies in the UK to deliver projects together, and see this new access offering as no exception.
Toby added “Whilst we could deliver this service on our own, we would prefer to partner with a local scaffold contractor and I would welcome any companies out there that would like to work with us to give me a call, my mobile number is on the website’’ 
Spencer Cassidy, Elite Scaffolding’s Managing Director, said: “After successfully completing high-profile projects at Ripley Castle, Knaresborough Castle, and Allerton Castle, this is the latest heritage building project that we have been involved with.
“It took our team three weeks to fully scaffold the 30m tower, allowing the experts to carry out their work in complete safety.
“This is another significant project for us, and we are delighted to be playing our part in helping restore this prominent structure, one that dominates the local skyline. It also demonstrates our expertise in scaffolding historic and listed buildings.” 
