All aboard as students attend Cemex careers open day

Company hosts first-ever careers open day for students from local schools and colleges in Southampton

LAST month (24 September) Cemex hosted their first-ever careers open day, attended by students from local schools and colleges in Southampton, with the aim of introducing students to their UK business and the wider mineral products industry.

Lending his support to the event, MP for Southampton and Itchen Darren Paffey commented: ‘Bringing together Southampton’s businesses, education providers, civic organizations and, of course, students is crucial to ensure that we can showcase the many opportunities that being a maritime city can bring.

‘As the new Member of Parliament, one of my priorities is to break down barriers to opportunity, so I wholeheartedly support this event and wish the organizers and attendees every success. Here’s hoping it’s the first of many marine open days to come.’

Cemex, in collaboration with Solent Careers Hub and Southampton City Council, hosted the open day to provide valuable career guidance, offer students insights into career pathways at Cemex, and ultimately help the students make informed decisions about their futures.

The day started with an overview of the role Cemex play in providing essential building materials that help to create new homes, schools, hospitals, leisure facilities, and other vital infrastructure both locally and across the UK.

Students had the opportunity to explore how aggregates are extracted, processed, and used in products such as cement, mortar, and ready-mixed concrete. There was also the opportunity to understand how Cemex’s sustainability teams support the business with its aim to become a carbon net-zero business by 2050.

As well as building and construction materials, the students also learned of the many other uses for minerals, including foods, medicines, toothpaste, and water – introducing them to an industry that significantly contributes to enhancing quality of life, education, and well-being.

Kurt Cowdery, general manager for Cemex’s marine operations in the UK, commented: ‘We have created this event to ensure these students have real-world encounters with professionals while providing practical insights and essential employability skills. Our collaboration with Solent Careers Hub not only benefits students, but also helps us as a business in shaping the skills we need for a more sustainable future.

‘We want to introduce young people to the industry and the potential career opportunities that they may not otherwise have known about. We were delighted to welcome the students and hope they all had an enjoyable day whilst also learning more about the opportunities within our industry.’

The highlight of the day was the opportunity for students to go aboard Cemex Go Innovation, the company’s flagship marine aggregates dredging vessel, where they were given a tour of the ship and introduced to the vigorous safety procedures that are applied by Cemex’s marine team as well as the operational and engineering activities that enable Cemex Marine to provide vital minerals for use in local and national building and construction projects.

The event was supported by exhibitors from across the industry including The Crown Estate, Wessex Archaeology, The Ship Safe Training Group – which supports the British Merchant Navy with training activities, Minerals Matter, and Maritime UK Solent.