Open Doors takes your learners behind the scenes to showcase the fantastic range of careers available in construction – hundreds of events will be available by March 2024. All types of construction sites, as well as training and manufacturing facilities, depots, offices, virtual reality and online events will be on offer to showcase roles across the sector.
The event, which partners with the Careers & Enterprise Company, the Department for Work & Pensions and Skills Development Scotland, is an exclusive opportunity to experience construction workplaces and see the range of 180+ different careers in action. Visitors will not only gain an exclusive insight into the sector but will leave inspired to consider construction careers going forwards. Open Doors allows you to satisfy the Gatsby Benchmarks and is an excellent addition to your annual programme of careers activities.
If you are interested in organising an Open Doors visit, use the interactive map to locate events in your area, then contact them directly to request advance group booking or further information. Sites will continue to be added until March 2024, so please check back regularly for new additions near you.
Once you have found an available site, the site team will be able to provide you with a Visit Brief and Risk Assessment to assist in making your case for the visit. The Visit Brief details which of the Gatsby Benchmarks it will meet, and the site team will work with you to arrange the finer details for the tour.
Open Doors will take place from Monday 18 – Saturday 23 March 2024. View our Countdown to Open Doors 2024 for further information and to see the upcoming dates for your diaries.
All Open Doors visits are provided free of charge. Unfortunately we are unable to assist with additional costs involved e.g. travel, but if protective clothing is required the site will provide this for your group.
If a suitable site does not appear on our map by November 2023, please contact us and we will ask our site hosts if they can open one local to you. If we cannot source a local site for you we may be able to arrange an online event or for a virtual reality experience to be brought to your location instead.
We would recommend sensible shoes and comfortable clothing, and it is always a good idea to bring some waterproof clothing as well just in case! Protective clothing (PPE) will be provided by the construction company hosting the site tour if required.
You will get the opportunity to see the project, office, or factory, meet the people who work in the industry and hear about their route into the industry. Many sites will require visitors to wear protective clothing (PPE), which will be provided. Some sites will also offer interactive experiences e.g. virtual reality, simulators or work tasters. Individual sites will provide information on what will be on offer on their site profiles, but you can contact them directly through their profile if you would like additional details.
If you have any specific requests or interests please mention them when booking and we will do our best to help to make them happen.
This will vary and estimated durations can be found on each site profile.
Yes absolutely! Just remember you will need to book each site individually and provide all the requested details separately (e.g. shoe sizes), as the sites will likely be hosted by different companies.
Whilst we encourage groups of all sizes, some sites may be operating under restrictions that mean they are not able to host larger groups. Please check the individual site profile for further details and remember that the earlier you book, the easier it will be to accommodate you!
We actively encourage all sites to host children where possible. Details on whether children can attend, and any applicable age restrictions, will be available on each site profile, as this will differ from site to site. Please note if a site does allow children to visit, all vulnerable individuals including under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult. If under 18, they must also have parental or legal guardian consent.
If you need to pre-book prior to 8 January 2024, please contact the site host directly through their site profile to request your preferred date. When making contact please be clear that you need to make a pre-booking for an educational group, as the pre-booking option is only available in this circumstance due to the significant planning required.
From 8 January 2024, you will need to log in to your account to book an Open Doors visit. Your account will be created when you make your first booking. You can then use the same account to book additional visits.
If possible, you should have the shoe and personal protective equipment (PPE) sizes handy for the people in your group. These can be amended or added later if necessary, and not all sites will require visitors to wear protective clothing.
Your account will be created when you first book a visit to an Open Doors site. You can then use the same account to book other visits.
Group visits are ideal for schools and colleges who wish to bring multiple attendees to satisfy the Gatsby Benchmarks. A group visit to an Open Doors site will allow you all to see what goes on behind the scenes and learn about the fantastic range of careers available in construction. Individual sites can be contacted to provide a Visit Brief and Risk Assessment to help you make the case to host the visit.
If you are asking to book a group prior to 8 January 2024, please liaise directly with the site host through their site profile in the first instance, as the general booking function will be disabled until this date.
From 8 January 2024, when making your booking, you can select the ‘Group Booking’ option and enter the details for each person who will be in your group, including their shoe and protective clothing sizes. You can return to complete the sizes later if necessary.
We provide our site hosts with templates for Visit Briefs and Risk Assessments, which you can request directly through their site profile. The Visit Brief will include the relevant Gatsby Benchmarks that the visit would satisfy.
Open Doors partners with the Careers & Enterprise Company, the Department for Work & Pensions, and Skills Development Scotland, which demonstrates their support for the event in terms of being a fantastic careers preview opportunity.
The construction industry can offer people from all different ages and backgrounds an exciting career. There is so much more to construction than just building, from design and engineering through project planning to the archaeological digs that take place. To find out more about the wide variety of construction careers, the qualifications you need and case studies on what it is really like, please visit the careers website Go Construct.
Our Careers page features lots of useful information on construction industry roles and how to get into them.
For general questions relating to Open Doors please email our team via info@opendoors.construction. For information on visiting specific sites please make direct contact through each site’s profile.