More than 80 apprentices and construction trade students from London South East Colleges have had the chance to speak with some of the UK construction industry’s biggest names during a recent Q&A session.

Hosted at the college’s Bromley campus, aspiring construction workers had the chance to ask a panel of six chief executives and managing directors questions on anything from what qualities they look for in employees to how to maintain a positive online footprint.

Among the panellists were Charlie Mullins OBE, the CEO of Pimlico Plumbers (pictured right), Shenaaz Chenia (left), the managing director of Saint Gobain, and Andrew Stevens, the CEO of technical and digital education providers CNet Training – who chaired the panel.

“Construction is becoming a multifaceted industry and employers only want to take on ‘good people’,” said Stevens. “They want the best possible candidates and they are willing to train them to become experts in their field. That’s how it works.”

“I have an interview for an apprenticeship coming up pretty soon and the panellists gave me some great ideas today,” said Scott, a motor vehicle student. “It was very interesting and they made some brilliant points.”