Brighouse High School students from Year 9 and 10 recently went behind the hoardings and took a guided tour of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s transformational new headquarters.

The £26m state-of-the-art headquarters, training centre and fire station is being delivered by construction company Willmott Dixon at the site in Birkenshaw and will take firefighter learning into the 21^st century when open later this year.

The group of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) based students had the opportunity to experience a live construction site for the first time and found out about the different types of job roles in the construction industry, with a specific focus on green careers and sustainable methods of construction.

Sarah Rogers, teacher at Brighouse High School said: “The visit to the fire station was really impressive. Students loved the whole experience of being on a real building site. The staff from Willmott Dixon were informative and young person-centred in their approach to educating the students in their passion for green construction.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer and Programme Lead for the Birkenshaw Fire Service Headquarters Development, Nick Smith:

“It is fantastic that our site at Birkenshaw is having such a positive impact across our communities already. We’re delighted to support the Open Doors sessions for local young people to gain greater understanding of their career options and are delighted Brighouse High School Students were able to come to see the site at such an exciting time.”

Chris Yates, Yorkshire director for Willmott Dixon:

“We’re thrilled to have welcomed students from Brighouse High School to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service HQ. The team were delighted to share their industry knowledge and from the brilliant questions the students asked about the project and on the different careers in construction, hopefully we’ve inspired the next generation to explore a dynamic and exciting career in the construction industry.

“Our ambition throughout this project has been to support and engage with young people from Yorkshire to help leave a legacy beyond bricks and mortar. Alongside West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and our supply chain partners, we’ve created 118 weeks of apprenticeships, delivered 720 hours of mentoring and careers advice and guidance and spent more than 200 hours in local schools."

Procured through SCAPE, the new headquarters will produce 50,000kwh of sustainable energy every year and has been created with the Yorkshire community in mind, with £18m having been invested in local businesses within 20 miles of the Birkenshaw site.