RSK built environment team backs Raise Up 2026 to open career pathways for young people

A multidisciplinary built environment team appointed to the Rise Construction Framework is preparing to support Raise Up 2026, a careers-focused social mobility event bringing together employers and young people to widen access to information, advice and opportunities.

Raise Up will take place at BOXPARK Liverpool on 1 October, bringing together employers and young people from across the region. The event will provide opportunities for employers to better understand the challenges and barriers facing young people not in education, employment or training, while giving young people the chance to meet employers, learn about different careers and explore potential routes into employment.

Multidisciplinary team opens up built environment career pathways

The framework team is led by ECD Architects and includes Keegans, Stephenson Halliday, RoC Consulting, Nature Positive, Silcock Leedham and Kendall Kingscott – all RSK Group businesses – as well as Evolve for support of the contract BIM consultancy services. The businesses represent disciplines including architecture, landscape architecture, biodiversity, engineering, project and cost management, surveying, building safety, planning, information management and sustainability.

Representatives from across the teams are coming together to support Raise Up, demonstrating their collective commitment to the Rise Construction Framework and its social value objectives. With expertise spanning a wide range of disciplines and business functions, the event team will be able to give young people direct access to people working in the built environment and an insight into the breadth of careers available and different routes into the sector.

The event organisers have encouraged participating employers to involve people from practical trades, finance, social media and administration, alongside technical and professional roles, to help young people understand that opportunities within the built environment extend far beyond the roles traditionally associated with the sector.

Social value extends beyond framework project delivery

Social value is central to the Rise Construction Framework. Rise uses profits generated through the framework to invest in initiatives designed to strengthen communities, increase economic participation and reduce pressure on frontline public services. Through its Thrive Careers Hub, Rise supported 172 young people into employment last year, and its work helping young people into education and work received the King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility) in 2024.

Rise Construction Framework Director Sarah Lawton said: “Raise Up is an important part of the Rise Construction Framework calendar. Raise Up brings to the fore the importance of social mobility to both business and young people. A one-of-a-kind event Raise Up will see leaders from the world of business, TV, sport and the charitable sector come together to share insights and expertise. Importantly, the event brings together 100’s of employers and young people together under one roof creating opportunity and hope.”

ECD Architects Joint Managing Director James Traynor said: “The built environment depends on people with a wide range of skills and experiences. Raise Up gives employers an opportunity to speak directly with young people, explain the breadth of roles available and listen to the barriers they face. By bringing together representatives from across our framework team, we hope to help more young people see a place for themselves in the sector and see the role they can play in addressing climate change and improving the environment in which we all live.”

RSK Group Divisional and Board Director Gary Young said: “Social value is strengthened when organisations use their expertise, networks and influence to widen access to opportunity. By working together, the framework partners can introduce young people to careers spanning design, engineering, environmental services and project delivery, alongside the business functions that support them.”

The Rise Construction Framework provides a compliant route to market for public-sector construction works and services across the North West of England, North Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber. It runs from March 2026 to March 2030, and is designed not only to support public-sector delivery but also to generate wider social impact through investment in communities.

The framework appointment provides the context for the team’s involvement, while Raise Up offers a way to extend its contribution beyond project delivery. By participating together, the ECD framework partners aim to support Rise’s wider social value ambitions while helping young people understand the breadth of careers available across the built environment and the different pathways through which they can enter and develop within the sector.