GUEST EDITOR: Why you can help shape Sheffield, its communities and homes

The Sheffield Property Association is a member-based organisation of over 70 private sector companies, who are, in some way or another, actively involved in the built environment.

As a group, we are brought together by a combined passion for Sheffield and its future.

We seek to promote and provide the very best for our city, and our region.

As an organisation the SPA is delighted to be involved in this week’s Learning Supplement.

We hope that we showcase to a younger audience some of the wide variety of jobs and careers that the built environment offers, from lawyers (I would start there!) to architects, planners, surveyors, consultants – the list goes on.

We will build on this further, looking at how we, as a group of businesses, can support the next generation by offering real opportunities to build their skills and to explore our industry through work experience, apprenticeships and employment.

We are mindful that how our industry operates today may not be how it operates in the future.

The past few months have put that into very sharp focus.

What does the future of the office, of work generally, look like?

CMS held its annual real estate conference last week.

Rather than 700 delegates gathering in Central Hall in Westminster as in previous years, we had over 800 people joining us on a virtual conference, focusing on what the future looks like for the real estate sector.

Gathered together last year, we could never have anticipated that the next event would be held virtually.

We were joined by futurologist, Magnus Lindkvist, who was asking if offices, and physical meetings, are going to be gone for good. I very much hope not! We are delighted to have signed a lease that will see us moving our office right into the heart of the city, with our fit-out starting any day now.

Whatever the new normal looks like, we all have a part to play in making Sheffield a great place to live, work, visit, and invest in.

My message to young people reading this is to think about career opportunities in the built environment, property and construction: these shape our city, our communities and the place we call home.

Guest editor Tanya HoltReal Estate partner, CMS