We’re pleased to announce that we've won the Inspiring Change in the Community Project Award. Our entry showcased our You Matter: Employment & Education Academy initiative on our Birmingham City Council Alexander Stadium Project.
Now in its sixth year, the Inspiring Change Conference & Awards organised by CECA highlight and reward organisations within the construction and infrastructure sector that have created a more inclusive culture. Open and inclusive workplace cultures in which everyone feels valued and respects colleagues are key to business success. This year's awards were supported by the Construction Leadership Council, CITB and FIR Programme.
The McLaughlin & Harvey You Matter: Employment & Education Academy won the Inspiring Change in the Community Project award for our innovative approach to addressing the employment and skills gap by removing inequalities and barriers in employment and education. In addition, the employment and education programmes improved local labour skills and raised young people's aspirations from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.
The judges commended McLaughlin & Harvey in the delivery of the programme with the following comments:
Judges Verdict: An excellent community initiative centred around the Alexandra Stadium in Birmingham that has led to 126 new entrants into the industry including 16 apprentices and 26 long-term unemployed. This was the result of significant efforts by McLaughlin & Harvey and their supply chain to reach out to 38 schools across the local community and engage with over 600 young people*. The judges also commended the company's decision to pay all the workforce the Birmingham Living Wage and to work with local community groups to engage the “hard to reach” members of the community.
*The social value statistics represent local employment, training & education only.
The programme was designed by McLaughlin & Harvey’s Social Value Manager and delivered onsite by the Project Management team led by Operation Director Martin Keys.
Operations Director Martin Keys said,
“I want to congratulate the project delivery team on this fantastic accolade. Everyone on Alexander Stadium contributed to the success of the You Matter Acadamy by creating a culture of fairness, inclusion and respect. Which ultimately led to the successfully delivery of the stadium."
Social Value Manager Shauna Young added,
“ We’re delighted to be recognised by the Inspiring Change awards. The win reflects how we as a company strive to create an inclusive culture and remove barriers to education and sustained employment. The successfully delivery of the programme has resulted in McLaughlin & Harvey having a skilled, competent and inclusive workforce.”
Due to the success of the You Matter Academy, McLaughlin & Harvey are now rolling the initiative out across all our projects to create inclusive employment and learning by removing the barriers to education and employment while supporting skills development.