2021 has been a highly successful year to date, and we’ve continued to win acclaim for our work and initiatives.
Awards give us a chance to share the spotlight with some of the biggest commercial names in the UK. They show just what we have to offer to the industry and the wider community.
Achieving potential
Several awards this year recognised our ongoing investment in our people.
We were awarded the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership award in May.
Our winning streak continued with two Inspire awards, the Inspire award for the Most Inspiring employer, and the Inspire award for Most Inspiring Employment Initiative, in July.
We were Highly Commended for the CN Specialists award for Training Excellence. These awards recognise outstanding achievements of specialist contractors. At the awards ceremony in October, the judges said that our VGC Academy initiative was
modern, relevant and personal.
Having awarded us the Construction News Diversity and Inclusion award last year, Construction News shortlisted us for the 2021 Training Excellence award.
In addition, we have been shortlisted for the REC award for People Development Business of the Year. The awards ceremony is this evening (25 November) and we’re hoping to add yet another trophy to our impressive list.*
Looking after each other
A series of awards prove how our people live the VGC value ‘We look after each other’.
In October we were Highly Commended for a British Construction Industry award.
The Community Engagement Initiative of the Year award is for ‘an outstanding community engagement initiative’ which creates a positive legacy. The judges said about our Go Beyond the Gates scheme:
Both the commercial and social benefits of this superb initiative were clearly and ably demonstrated. Of note was the zero-re-offending statistic which is testimony to the careful initiation and quality management of the scheme.
“This is world-class and needs support throughout the construction industry and beyond, and consider gaining charitable status to allow greater cross industry participation.
The award was won by Balfour Beatty, and we shared the shortlist with industry leaders including Morgan Sindall Volker Fitzpatrick JV and Bowmer + Kirkland.
We’re shortlisted for two Better Society awards.
We found ourselves in illustrious company when the Better Society Network shortlisted us for two awards – National Commitment to Skills and Training, and National Commitment to the Community. Other nominees included the Co-op, NatWest, Aviva, and Barclays.
The awards aim to reward commercial organisations who are helping create a better, more equal, ethical and sustainable world. Our place on both award shortlists allows us to tell a growing audience about our contribution to society, and celebrate our passion for helping people.
The winners will be announced on 2 December.
Client awards
Our teams on HS2 west and central, as well as our teams on Thames Tideway, achieved coveted Costain Blue status during 2021.
We were the top scoring ‘pyramid score’ supplier for health and safety across all of Balfour Beatty Highways projects for May 2021.
In addition, our people have received over 35 individual client commendations for achievements on-site.
CEO Laurence Mckidd said: “I would like to thank all the members of staff whose ongoing hard work has led to these awards. They are an indication of how everyone at VGC supports each other to go beyond expectations and deliver for our colleagues, our clients and our community.”
*Update: VGC was Highly Commended at the REC awards.
