St Helens regeneration programme building up career aspirations at De La Salle School

Article date 14 July 2026

Each year, De La Salle School in Mill Brow, St Helens, organises a series of careers events to help students learn about different career paths, actively seeking support from businesses, alongside further and higher education institutions.

VINCI Building, the main contractor delivering the regeneration scheme for St Helens Borough Council and ECF, a regeneration partnership between Homes England, L&G and Muse, organises the school's support as part of its social impact commitments to the area.

Along with VINCI Building, the businesses that took part in the first two careers events at De La Salle included supply chain companies HA Civils, Project 4 Safety, A&B Engineering, Ubique (a risk/project management consultancy) and Fawkes & Reece (a construction recruitment agency), as well as project officer Kate Martlew from St Helens Borough Council.

Their participation saw several different career paths represented at the school's careers event for the first time, helping pupils to learn about new career opportunities in the construction and property industries. They also managed to bring a former De La Salle pupil to the event, who was able to talk to students about his experiences of attending the school and how he used his studies to find a good career within the construction industry.

The second event saw businesses working on the regeneration initiative holding mock interviews with Year 11 students from De La Salle to give them a safe space to learn interview skills. Students had the opportunity to experience the interview process, practise talking about their skills and strengths, and build their confidence when speaking to professionals. Teachers at the school reported that students who participated in mock interviews demonstrated measurable improvements in confidence and body language, question-answering and communication, and improved their understanding of employers' expectations.

The school has also found that as a direct result of the first two events, students that participated have been feeling more confident about their next steps and better informed about their options. Teachers have noticed increased engagement in lessons, as pupils can now see clearer links between studying and their future ambitions. Many participants have subsequently refined their CVs and personal statements, and have found their anxiety about upcoming interviews for college, sixth form or apprenticeships has decreased.

One Year 11 pupil in particular said that the constructive feedback they received during their mock interview made them feel more prepared for their college interview, helping them secure a place at their preferred college.

Following the success of the first two events, VINCI Building has announced it will support the next careers event at the school.

The event will be a 'What's my job?' session for Year 7 pupils. Students will ask the visitors to the school questions to learn about their role, in an effort to guess their job. The process will enable students to learn more about different career paths they may or may not be aware of, whilst also helping them to develop confidence, critical thinking and communication skills.

Councillor Jack Benyon, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Property and Planning at St Helens Borough Council, said: "For many young people, the world of high-value professional services and major construction is either something they've never considered, or it feels out of reach. My priority is to dismantle those barriers. This town centre programme is a massive engine for growth, and by bringing that engine into the classroom, we are showing the young people in our town that there are lots of exciting and lucrative career paths well within their grasp. This regeneration programme can and must build a bridge between education and the local economy, ensuring that the talent we grow in St Helens can build a future in the town too."

Hannah Bailey, Social Value Manager at VINCI Building, said: "These careers events are designed to be transformative experiences. Not only do they help raise aspirations, they're intrinsically practical. They help students to find career paths that suit their own personal strengths and interests, and teach them life skills that will benefit them after they leave school. We're very proud that the careers events we've participated in at De La Salle School have achieved so many positive results already and we look forward to seeing what the next event will achieve for students at the school."

Matt Whiteley, Senior Development Manager at ECF, added: "This programme isn't just about changing the skyline of St Helens, it's about changing lives. As someone who's worked in the construction industry for a number of years, I can personally testify that it offers an incredible breadth of opportunities and career paths. It is fantastic to see our delivery team engaging so passionately with students at De La Salle School and helping them to better understand our industry. By sharing our collective experiences, we are helping the next generation to explore all the career paths open to them - no matter what their background is - and see that they don't have to leave the borough to find a fantastic vocation."

Peter Hale, Assistant Headteacher, De La Salle, added: "It's hard to convey how important the support of external businesses is for our school's careers events, and often it's not easy to find businesses to support them. Getting so much additional support from the regeneration project team has made a clear and noticeable difference to our pupils. They've been able to get honest insights into different industries, connect classroom learning with real-world careers, and experience a job interview situation, which is invaluable."