My career in construction has spanned 2 decades and in that time I have witnessed first-hand the lack of support for many construction workers, often with little access to financial or emotional support in times of need. For example 25% of the UK construction workforce (750,000) are still self-employed affording little, if any job security.

We rely on the wider construction workforce to build our homes, workplaces and critical infrastructure but the majority of workers are offered little support in return. A career in construction relies on the acceptance of a lack of job security, with the industry often suffering first during economic downturns and is often the last to bounce-back during economic buoyancy.

These are the realities of the industry and I watched my own father grapple with this during his 40-year career in construction management. Even as a child I felt a shared anxiety as projects completed and the pressure was on to find the next one, ensuring our family could maintain financial stability. Often this did not go as planned and on more than one occasion resulted in an extended period of unemployment and in turn hardship in our home, when money got tight.

With many friends and some family members working in the industry I feel its only right I help to give back and support those who need it most. So, I have rallied of team of like-minded people from my employer, Paye Stonework and Restoration. The team will travel to Morocco, climb Mt Toubkal the highest mountain in North Africa and return to work in the UK in a swift 4 day period.

We aim to raise as much money as possible with each of the team members aiming for £1000 at minimum. All donations go to the cause and none will be used to fund the challenge, that has been taken care of by Paye and with a little self-funding from each team member.

If you would like to support this challenge please make a donation big or small, it all goes to a great cause and I would be personally extremely grateful for the support, promising to put my energy and time into both pre-training and the challenge itself.

A little more info about the charity below:

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is dedicated to the emotional, physical & financial wellbeing of construction workers & their families. We provide a range of free pro-active resources to support the industry. Our free & confidential 24/7 Helpline & text HARDHAT service offers a range of information, guidance & support. These services are complemented by our free Self Support App. We receive no public funding so rely on the industry to 'support their own'. Every penny raised helps make a difference to a construction worker in need