Garenne took the role of School Adopter with Le Rocquier School in June 2018 and pitched the idea of DEC! to parents and pupils. 28 students applied for the 22 places for the Level 1 which was offered as an extra-curricular activity.  One of the key elements of the success of DEC! is the partnership with the school which includes our staff being involved and leading lessons.  All the students passed Level 1 with 10 students continuing to Level 2.  The summer of this year saw all students passing Level 2 which was established as a GCSE equivalent by Skills Jersey.   By March 2020 we saw 388 pupils studying DEC! in five different secondary schools with over 440 students having access to the course in 2021.

As part of our five-year commitment, we have also established the Level 3 DEC! at Highlands College, which is also now being offered at Hautlieu, and through our ongoing industry partnership with the construction faculty at the further education facility, we have helped to sponsor a dedicated room for all Level 3 students to have access to top of the range computers and software to develop their skills.  The students on these courses continue to have access to industry leaders and regularly attend construction sites getting hands-on experience whilst studying what is now an accredited A-Level equivalent.

Through the ongoing work to establish a construction education pathway, we have notice a significant positive change in the perception of working in the built environment which is essential as the industry continues to grow.  In addition to this we have been shortlisted for two national awards in the last year for ‘People Development’ and ‘Community Engagement’.