Created to showcase the construction and civil engineering industry in a completely different way, the two-day event gave families and young people the opportunity to get up close to the people, plant and skills behind the sector.

Thousands of visitors took part in activities throughout the weekend, with attractions including live construction demonstrations, plant and machinery displays, mini digger experiences, a dedicated sand pit, vintage machinery, interactive challenges, family entertainment and the opportunity to meet teams from across the Advance Group, not to mention the coaches from St Mirren Football club together with Rangers former player, Mark Hately taking time out of their schedule to man the ‘Beat the Goalie’ challenge!

It was also brilliant to welcome celebrity star Grado to interact with the staff and visitors.

The live Construction Demonstration Zone proved particularly popular, with crowds gathering throughout the weekend to watch skilled operators and construction teams demonstrate machinery and techniques whilst playing ‘Digger Football’ with a giant ball.

The event was designed not only as a family day out, but to inspire the next generation and challenge perceptions of careers within construction.

Advance Construction wanted children and young people to leave the event understanding that the industry offers an enormous range of opportunities, from plant operation, engineering and construction management to surveying, environmental roles, technology and many other career paths.

A spokesperson for Advance Construction said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the response. To welcome more than 36,000 people over the weekend was beyond anything we could have imagined

“The whole purpose of the Advance Construction Experience was to open up our industry and let families see what construction is really about. We wanted young people to see the machines, meet the people behind them, experience some of it for themselves and hopefully go home thinking, ‘I could do that one day.’

“Seeing thousands of children completely fascinated by the plant and demonstrations was incredible. If this weekend has inspired even a small percentage of them to consider a future career in construction, then we have achieved exactly what we set out to do.”

The event also demonstrated the scale of collaboration across the Advance Group, with employees and volunteers giving up their time to help deliver the weekend and engage directly with visitors.

Advance Construction thanked Riverside Museum for helping make the event possible, together with everyone who volunteered, supported, exhibited and contributed to the weekend.

Special thanks were also given to McGill’s Buses and Glasgow Minibus and Coach Hire for supporting transport arrangements and helping move visitors between the museum and overflow parking facilities during an exceptionally busy weekend.

The Advance team added: “Our volunteers were phenomenal. Events of this scale simply don’t happen without an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, and the way everyone pulled together summed up what Advance is all about.

“There was a real sense of pride across the weekend, pride in our people, pride in our industry and pride in being able to share it with so many members of the public.

“We wanted to show the next generation just how fantastic our industry is. Looking back at the weekend, we think we did exactly that, the Advance way.”

The success of the Advance Construction Experience comes at a time when attracting new talent and developing the next generation of skilled workers remains one of the construction industry’s most important challenges.

By allowing young people to experience the industry in an engaging and accessible environment, Advance hopes the event will help encourage greater awareness of the diverse careers and opportunities available across construction, civil engineering and the wider infrastructure sector.