Following a successful 2023, the JCT Young Professionals Group (YPG) is making improvements to its online resources, as well as continuing to offer a range of networking and learning opportunities.
The YPG ended last year having hosted a number of events and continued to grow its membership with a variety of networking and information resources. The YPG participated in a highly successful joint event with young member groups from the industry’s professional bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) Tomorrow’s Leaders, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Matrics UK. The event was an exciting opportunity to bring together young professionals from across the industry to meet, make contacts, and discuss the key issues affecting their careers and the wider building environment.
The YPG also ran its first breakfast workshop, on the topic of letters of intent, hosted by Charles Edwards, JCT Council member and barrister (head of chambers), Gray’s Inn Construction Chambers and New Temple Chambers. This smaller group format offered the opportunity to cover a topic in greater detail and for YPG members to take advantage of the access to expertise from some of the industry’s leading experts. The YPG will continue to host workshops this year.
The central ‘hub’ for the YPG is its dedicated online portal where members can access news, articles, videos, white papers, interviews, and sign up for events. A recent initiative is the ‘member spotlight’ which shines a light on our members and gives them the opportunity to share their background and role within the industry, as well as promote their work and activities.
Members will also notice some improvements to the online portal, starting with a new featured content area. The featured content area enables new and important content to be more prominently sign-posted so that members will be able to quickly and easily get to relevant content and be kept up-to-date on the latest initiatives.
We have also made a significant upgrade to the events process, making it much easier for members to sign up for and manage the events they wish to attend. A new automatic registration process makes the sign-up process more streamlined and additional features, such as an ‘add to calendar’ function, ensure that reminders can be easily set. Members can also manage their bookings via the portal, enabling them to view, amend, and cancel their event bookings seamlessly when they are logged in to the site.
A reminder that the YPG is a membership group for those in the first ten years of their construction career, those “young in the industry” regardless of age, and students, to provide a space for networking, shared learning, events, discussion, and to foster greater understanding of the construction contract process (as well as other industry topics), deeper connections to JCT, and encourage cross-industry collaboration.
If you are a newly qualified professional working in the construction industry, looking to expand your knowledge, your network, and meet with like-minded professionals, or if you are an experienced professional whose staff or junior colleagues might benefit from YPG membership, or if you would like to contribute to an event, consider having a look at the YPG website – there are options available for both individual and corporate memberships. The YPG and its members look forward to welcoming you. More information is available at http://ypg.jctltd.co.uk
