People

People are at the heart of The Catalyst. Whether it’s colleagues across the University working behind the scenes on the project, students and apprentices who will study at the facility or, the contractors working day in, day out on site.

Find out more about some of our latest initiatives below to see how the building is already enriching the lives of various people. 

Mental Health Awareness Training

Mental Health and Wellbeing is a top priority for the University ensuring that Staff and Students can access services, resources, self-help tools and training sessions.

As part of the project a series of Mental Health Training sessions in collaboration with North Staffs Mind, Vinci and the University have been created to help support mental health and wellbeing.

The sessions are fully interactive and cover a wide range of topics and discussions including:

• Mental Health in the Higher Education and Construction industries
• Stigma and mental health, especially for men
• Common mental health conditions
• Stress and how to manage it
• Sources of support including self-help.

To date, 40 members of staff at the University and Vinci have attended sessions meaning that a collective total of 120hrs of training has been received as a direct result of The Catalyst project.

Inspiring careers in construction and engineering

Work placements and internships

Through the project, undergraduate, postgraduate and alumni students at the University studying on relevant courses have been given opportunities to undertake placement on site at The Catalyst.

The month long placements enable students to immerse themselves on a live project and gain insights from working alongside Vinci’s experienced workforce.

Recent placements have given students the chance to experience areas such as;

• Project Management
• Planning, design and building services
• Commercial Management
• Site Management / Engineering

Careers talks

As part of the University’s Digital Connected Futures Careers Festival, VINCI hosted a session geared specifically around the Construction Industry and work experience.

The sessions held covered the diverse roles that are available within the construction industry, how undertaking work experience can support your career planning and the benefits of undertaking work experience.