Keltbray Celebrates World Children’s Day with re-launch of ‘When I Grow Up’

Keltbray is pleased to announce the re-launch of ‘When I Grow Up’

This year Keltbray are celebrating World Children’s Day on 20 November with the exciting re-launch of the bespoke, award-winning storybook, ‘When I Grow Up’. The book is written by Rich Smith, Pre-Construction Director of Highways at Keltbray, to inspire as many bright young minds as possible and encourage them to consider a career in construction. Paired with interactive workshops, the book is aimed at primary school aged children and promotes STEM as an exciting and engaging career. Of the book, Rich says:

“With the current skills gap in construction, as well as the challenges in recruiting young, diverse talent into our industry, it is important to highlight what an exciting and wide-ranging career construction can provide. The storybook gives an engaging introduction to the sector at a young age and helps promote STEM subjects to children who otherwise may not consider this path. It is so important that we inspire future generations now, to propel our industry forward.”

‘When I Grow Up’ follows twins Harry and Amy who are considering their future professions as part of their school careers day competition. The story covers a range of engineering activities and demonstrates to children that without the hard work of those in the construction industry, many other jobs would not be possible. The purpose of the book is to inspire school children and engage with STEM subjects from a young age, building an appreciation in young minds that our industry underpins almost everything. The story captures children’s imagination through its colourful illustrations and rhyming verse.

Readily accessible, free resource

We want the books’ potential and influence to be maximised, reaching children all over the country – from bedtime stories to school workshops to playground activities. To make this possible, the book is completely free to anyone within Keltbray who wishes to use it as a resource, either for their own children, or on our sites and in communities to deliver meaningful social value that will bring positive change to our industry.

We also welcome collaboration and sharing of the storybook with other contractors, subcontractors and supply chain partners. The book is completely devoid of any branding, so that others can easily use it to deliver their own social value and engage local communities. The storybook can be used as needed, and resources created to target a wider range of children. We invite all of Keltbray, as well as our delivery partners, local schools, charities and community groups to use the book and help maximise its reach.

“It’s a privilege to be able to re-launch the book to the wider industry in honour of World Children’s Day, so that we can reach a new audience and inspire the next generation to consider a career in construction. Through education, we can do our part in creating a better future for our young people and ensure they have the necessary tools to carve out a meaningful career. We want When I Grow Up to be used across our industry in support of social value commitments. The book is free of any company branding so that everyone, no matter where they work can get involved!” Rich Smith, author of When I Grow Up.

To discuss how to obtain a copy/copies, please contact Rich Smith – rich.smith@keltbray.com, Elizabeth Revill – elizabeth.revill@keltbray.com or Sarah Brammer – sarah.brammer@keltbray.com

Alternatively, visit www.whenigrowupbook.co.uk

World Children’s Day

Integrating perfectly to launch on World Children’s Day, which is UNICEF’s annual day of action for children, by children. First established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day, it’s celebrated each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare. From climate change, education and mental health, to ending racism and discrimination, children and young people are raising their voices on the issues that matter to their generation and calling for adults to create a better future. We want to be part of this, and ‘When I Grow Up’ aims to capture the imaginations of children to show that a career in construction or STEM can be multi-faceted, forward thinking and, overall, integral to positive progress.

The theme for 2022 is Inclusion, For Every Child perfectly complimenting ‘When I Grow Up’ which was written to engage all, with a diverse and relatable class of characters to motivate as many different children as possible and show that construction is a career for all and that they can have their say, make a difference and leave a lasting impact.

ENDS