The Construction Development Alliance (CDA) hosted Our biannual Young Person in Construction Awards last night, May 25th 2023, at Burnley Mechanics.
The Young Person in Construction Awards (YPCA) 2023 aims to support, congratulate and encourage young people to continue their construction pursuits. CDA wants to recognise these young people’s daily work and let them know they are seen, recognised and appreciated. 
We have all been young and fresh in the workplace. It’s a stressful time to decide what you want to do with your life and if the job you are training for is genuinely for you.
Making a better Today by supporting the Young People of Tomorrow!
The main sponsor for the evening was Sika. This specialist chemical company holds a leading position in developing and producing systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry. With this help from Sika, the YPCA welcomed an extraordinary celebrity personality, Charlie Luxton.
The chosen charity was the Horsfall and 42nd Street, whose aim is to help young people with their mental health and well-being. You may have noticed that many young people have struggled through the last few years, and Covid-19 has taken a massive toll on their self-esteem. So why not donate today using our event fundraiser page if you haven’t already?
What Awards?
The Awards are a way for our members and the local communities to get together and celebrate the new professionals for their hard work and achievements.
The awards are perfect for showing your support and nominating that construction student, apprentice, or young professional.
They are 16-25 years old, studying or working in the construction industry and based in the North West of England.
The categories are:
- Overcoming Adversity – Benjamine Hall Sponsored By Hawthorn Estates Ltd
- Young Apprentice – Holly Duffy Sponsored by B&E Boys Ltd
- Construction Professional – Abigail Brierley Sponsored By Clement Acoustics
- Young Construction Environmentalist – Connor Lynch Sponsored By Ian Farmer Associates
- Young Designer – Sam Gregson Sponsored by Poole Dick
The CDA members and their guests are incredibly proud of the Winner of this year’s YPCA.
As a thank you for all the Winner’s hard work, they receive a certificate, trophy, and a personalised goodie bag to help them in their construction career.
A unique Award is held as a surprise for the night for the overall Winner. First, the CDA members selected the candidate they felt was the most outstanding; after reading through what the nominators said about the individual, the members were then asked to vote.
This year the award was sponsored by Forbes Solicitors.
Who won?
Reid Lewis had the privilege of opening the envelope to announce the overall Winner.
As a collective group, the CDA Members deliberated over the nominations and agreed that the Winner for this year’s Overall Winner Award would go to…
-Abigail Brierley-
Abi won the Young Construction Professional Award earlier in the night. She has undertaken a BEng in Civil Engineering, achieving first-class honours, and during her time at university, she undertook an experience placement in California, working for a heavy civil contractor and building an airport runway. Abi is currently working for Laing O’Rourke, as an Assistant Construction Manager. She is passionate that the ‘old fashioned’ way of shouting and screaming to get things accomplished is not necessary. She believes people work better when they are happy and respected. She is currently writing and presenting a conference paper, based on her dissertation, studying differences in experience, between males and females in construction, in the UK and USA, and she hopes that the conclusions will make people think about their actions and what they can do.
On the night, Abi thanked those who supported her and added the wise words, “Whether it be an 18-year-old girl from Burnley, whether it be an apprentice, whether it be a graduate – Give them a chance, coz they might just be the future.”
The CDA members completely agree with Abi on this sentiment and would like to congratulate her on the hard work she is putting into her future and the future of those to come.
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