The annual ConstructionSkills Positive Image recruitment campaign, which aims to promote the construction industry as an attractive career, is moving into new media in an attempt to keep up with today's youth.

The campaign organisers have shirked TV and printed media ads in favour of social networking site, Bebo, paid-for online search terms and banner ads on targeted web sites to reach its audience of 11-19 year olds.

Construction Ambassadors – young people working in construction – have developed their own pages, to encourage discussion about working in the industry and give 'real life' responses to visitors' questions while adverts promoting a competition to 'win a Wii' have been placed around the Bebo site, encouraging users to vote for their 'coolest' and 'ugliest' buildings.

Nicola Thompson, ConstructionSkills director of communications and marketing, said: "Using sites like Bebo for our campaign work is a really new area for us, so we're learning as we go along and reacting to challenges as they arise. Working with our Construction Ambassadors, we have to encourage the really positive discussion threads about working in construction and manage the postings which reinforce the stereotypical views about the industry".