Construction firm Beard is nurturing the next generation of talent through its year-long industrial placement programme.

Seven students from various universities are gaining practical experience in Beard's offices across the South, including Southampton.

Mitch Burton is a Quantity Surveying student at Oxford Brookes University based at Beard’s Southampton office. He said: "The placement has been a great introduction to the construction industry. I can practically apply the theory I’ve learned on my Quantity Surveying course to real projects, which has given me a much broader understanding.

"The Beard team has offered lots of guidance and support, and I’m looking forward to taking on more responsibilities during my year with them. I wanted to go into construction because it feels like you’re working towards a tangible goal, which will have a real benefit on people and communities."

The other students, studying fields ranging from quantity surveying to mechanical engineering, are also based in Bristol, Swindon and Guildford.