From Gameplay to Real World Construction

The computer game SimCity was launched in 1989. Since then, millions of mainly young people have been absorbed at some point in their lives in a virtual world where they design buildings, streets, districts and cities, complete with infrastructure and amenities.

How many of these young people have gone on to design, engineer or construct real buildings and infrastructure assets? Probably not that many.

Somehow, we’ve failed to make the connection between gameplay involving the built environment and real-world construction projects. We’ve maybe missed an opportunity to communicate that designing real communities can be as much fun and more fulfilling than designing imaginary ones.

But, looked at in a more positive light perhaps there are reasons to be optimistic if we learn the right lessons.

Demographics alone tell us that we need to attract more young people into the industry. Some, naturally, will always be drawn in by the opportunity to do something practical and hands-on. It’s hard to envisage a time when we don’t need those practical construction skills. But our industry is changing. And the pace of change needs to accelerate.

Modern methods of construction are slowly changing the nature of much on-site work. While CAD, BIM, big data and other innovations are changing the profile of the skills we need and the opportunities on offer.

Digitally enabled construction ought to be an environment that appeals to a wider cross-section of people. Among these will probably be many tech-savvy young people who would never have previously thought of construction as the sector in which to build their careers.

To drive change, we need to engage with young people in the right way, show them how the industry isn’t quite what they’d imagined, and make the link between their interests and capabilities and the career opportunities on offer. To do this we have to communicate on their terms rather than ours.

If you are interested in a career in construction, have a look at our early career opportunities here.