ST LUKE’S High hosted a unique seminar to offer East Renfrewshire students a glimpse into the construction industry.

The Barrhead school was the venue for a series of workshops designed to educate 140 youngsters on the ins and outs of the building trade.

Organised as part of the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal, the event brought pupils from six of the area’s high schools together with potential employers.

During the day, the S4, S5 and S6 teenagers were given an insight into civil engineering, planning, project and cost management and urban design.

Councillor Tony Buchanan, convenor for Infrastructure and Sustainable Growth, said: “Our £44 million Glasgow City Region City Deal investment is enabling a range of ambitious projects within East Renfrewshire.

“This event allowed us to highlight the early stage planning and urban design career path options in new and innovative ways.

“We were able to relate them to our local projects including the new visitor centre and wake-park at Dams to Darnley Country Park and the enhanced road network between Barrhead, Newton Mearns and the M77.

“We hope by showing the real-time, positive impact construction can have on students’ lives, careers and the community, it may help them to consider other possibilities when planning the next steps of their education.”

Hosted by numerous parties including Aecom and Holmes Miller, the seminar educated the youngsters on the wide array of career pathways in the construction industry.

Pupils were suitably impressed with the advice and information on offer.

Barrhead High student Jonathan Alison, 17, said: “It was good to think about job availability and career progression within an area that I live in.

“All the workshops were really good as well because you had the opportunity to hear about real life scenarios and how things actually work in practice.”

The Glasgow City Region City Deal is a partnership involving eight local authorities and the Scottish and UK governments.

It includes 26 projects, 20 of which are major infrastructure schemes which will create 15,000 construction jobs across the City Deal region and 28,000 positions once work is completed.

East Renfrewshire’s £44 million City Deal investment is focussed on six key projects.

These include: enhancing the area’s road network, creating a business centre and transforming the Dams to Darnley Country Park into a must-visit leisure destination.