We’ve been 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. Judges looked for project teams which demonstrated a clear understanding of the community’s needs, and had rolled out an initiative developed specifically to meet these. Entries also had to demonstrate clear evidence of the impact of the initiative.
After submitting a summary of the initiative, shortlisted companies presented online to a BCIA judging panel on 31 August.
Our entry described the Go Beyond The Gates programme, led by CSR manager Kimberley McGinty.
We support ex-offenders into sustainable work on construction projects, helping them to start a new life out of prison. Giving them a chance in a new career helps break the cycle of unemployment, homelessness and re-offending.
During the pandemic we continued the initiative online. Some offenders were locked up for 23 hours each day, so our video-conferencing and phone calls to support inmates were particularly important. We hosted our own event with 60 serving offenders, and attended virtual employability days as guest speakers. We also provided in-cell videos and literature. These explained Go Beyond the Gates, and how we support successful candidates upon release.
The judges said:
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 category was won by Balfour Beatty for the Manchester Engineering Campus Development.
The other shortlisted companies in the community engagement category were:
- Fosse Park West and Food Central – Bowmer + Kirkland
- Pooley Bridge, Cumbria – Cumbria County Council
- Barking Riverside Social Value Strategy – Morgan Sindall Volker Fitzpatrick (MSVF) JV
- Regency Restoration Project Education and Community Engagement Plan – WM Longreach
Chief executive Laurence Mckidd said: “Thank you to our team, our clients and partner organisations, who support the programme. We’re pleased to give ex-offenders a second chance, as part of our legacy on the UK’s infrastructure projects.”
Go Beyond the Gates has won several other awards – see our awards page for more information.
The winners of the British Construction Industry awards were announced at an awards ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 13 October 2021.
The BCIA, which are led by New Civil Engineer and the Institute of Civil Engineers, aim to recognise projects that improve people’s lives.
