VGC’s senior directors have announced the shortlist for the 2023 Go Beyond Awards.
Chief Operating Officer, Ciara Pryce said:
“We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2023 Go Beyond awards, awarded to those that live and breathe the VGC values every day and have delivered exceptional results.
We have received a huge number of nominations from across our offices and sites, from both colleagues, clients, and suppliers. Following a detailed review, we are pleased to reveal the 2023 shortlist. We are immensely proud of all those that have been nominated. Judging to select the winners for each category will be incredibly hard.”
Winners of our values award and our Go Beyond Outstanding achievement awards, for the member(s) of staff who have consistently demonstrated all the VGC values throughout the year will be announced on Thursday 14 December 2023 at our end of year team meeting and awards ceremony.
Head office
We achieve potential shortlist
Anna Bieda, Labour Manager – received a lot of nominations from the staff she has placed on site. They have said that she is responsive, polite, and friendly and has helped them in securing great employment opportunities. A recuring comment was that she always goes the extra mile. From a social impact point of view, she has been supporting various colleges and local organisations with engagement of students, young people and those looking for work within the construction sector.
Christina Donaghey, Social Impact Manager – Christina is incredibly responsive in managing requests for support and help from across the business. From tenders, award entries and presentations to the day job she is always willing to help. She delivered an excellent national inclusion presentation which included a training session on unconscious bias and a potluck lunch celebrating the rich diversity of cultures that we have at VGC.
Abbas Hussain, Labour Manager– people have said that Abbas always goes the extra mile for both his clients and his colleagues. He is supporting the wider team in managing the EKFB project and helping to grow the midlands region. A works manager commented that he is always available and able to help solve problems whilst a QS said that he sources excellent and staff has brilliant communication skills.
Ben Kegan, HSQE Advisor – Ben has continued to achieve his potential this year within his role. He worked hard to upskill himself, achieving an NVQ Level 6 and a CSCS black card. He is also delivering safe-at-heart training on behalf of HS2 and driving safety improvements across the southern region.
Dilan Patel, Management Accountant – has had a huge impact within the finance team providing a clear and proactive link between operational delivery and financial reporting whilst providing timely and accurate figures and detailed commentary. He has gone a step further in terms of business improvements and introduced Power BI reporting and realising the wider benefits of this has coordinated training for teams across the Group to adopt this business tool including his own course work prior to the training to ensure everyone got the most out of it.
Laura Perry, Head of HR – Laura has had an excellent year delivering numerous diverse projects that the whole team were able to benefit from. These have included the launch of the flexible benefits programme, HiBob, GDPR ROPA project and the recruitment and resourcers legal and compliance training programme. Her skill base is broad, and she continues to uphold the highest standards of professionalism.
Site
We achieve potential shortlist
Damien Belle, Supervisor, BBV HS2 – Since joining VGC, Damien has been a motivation to all around him to better themselves. He started with VGC as a traffic marshal and has since progressed to the role of site supervisor having achieved a Level 3 NVQ in site supervision and his SSSTS. Damien is also fully engaged with several local charities and events aimed at preventing youth violence and knife crime within the community. Damien was the speaker at the second chance charter event held by the Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Combined Authority and received the rising star in construction award at the Building the Future awards in Birmingham.
Nerijus Grigas, Multi skilled operative, Morgain Sindall – Nerijus has consistently demonstrated a high level of safety standards in his work. Nerijus was tasked with clearing the site boundary during de-vegetation. Nerijus trusted his training and identified some dumped materials as potentially being Asbestos Contaminated. Nerijus kept the area clear from disturbance and raised the PI. The items were tested and were Asbestos leading to 80 bags being removed from site. Not only did Nerijus use his technical knowledge and experience, he also protected his colleagues.
Head office
We deliver on our promises shortlist
Steve Kenny, Operations Director – Steve is an all-rounder with experience spanning tendering, business development, commercial and finance as well as recruitment! Covering probably more miles than anyone else he provides support to multiple teams across multiple regions. He leads from the front, is always looking to innovate and ensures we deliver what we say we will do for our clients. He is a key member of the operations, digital, commercial, and leadership teams, and he goes about his business quietly with no fanfare. He is well respected internally and by our clients.
Wayne Pleasant, Procurement Manager – Wayne works away quietly in the background ensuring that VGC are always achieving best value through the procurement process, but this is not all he does. He has provided a huge amount of support to his team in terms of training as well as providing a listening ear. He also has taken on responsibility for facilities management and maintenance which sees him having to attend offices and sites in the evening and weekends. His team have said he’s a great role model and manager and a great example of someone that goes beyond.
Anna Slavova, Senior resourcing and compliance specialist – Put simply, Anna makes sure that the recruitment and compliance gets done. She is proactive and supportive to her team and maintains a level of trust and confidence, so that they know the job is being done correctly and accurately. During the recent merge she went above and beyond to ensure that everyone felt part of the team and understood what was expected.
Richard Wheeler, Head of HSQE – The feedback is that Richard has had a great year. He is calm, pragmatic and continues to offer unwavering but objective support to his team. No question or query is too big, whether people seek advice on professional or personal matters – even when he is really busy himself. He has worked hard to ensure we have a voice within our client’s organisations, delivered training as far north as Carlisle, and provided critical support & leadership to the business following a serious incident earlier in the year. He really supported his colleagues (including his senior managers) during this time and these positive behaviours are truly appreciated and won’t be forgotten.
Site
We deliver on our promises shortlist
Mihai Gligor, Groundworker, Costain A30 – Mihai was booked to be practically assessed on site for his slinger/signaller approval and as such a wheeled 360 machine with an operator would be arriving at our site location to commence the lifting operations (our 809.11.23 track machine with operator did not have a lift plan). Once the machine arrived on site, we were expected to commence immediately without the assessor present, whilst he could have done this in good faith to look pro-active, he declined until the assessor was present. It’s not always easy to challenge a situation when there is awareness of production pressures, but Mihai ensured that the correct process was followed, and our client was impressed with his professionalism.
Andrew Iwute, COSS, Balfour Beatty – Andrew not only demonstrated fantastic technical and professional knowledge, but he also demonstrated behaviours that were in line with the VGC values. Andrew delivered his COSS briefing and was commended by the Network Rail safety team on site for his great attitude towards safety and compliance. They said that ’the best coss briefing I have heard in a while was delivered by the coss, excellent communication, he asked questions at the end to ensure he was understood.’
Gary Rowles – Groundworker/ Gateman, LTC – Gary was nominated for giving consistent outstanding briefings to people entering the Balfour Beatty Lower Thames Crossing Project. The Senior works manager commented to VGC chairman Sean Fitzpatrick that this was one of the most informative and well delivered briefings he has ever received when entering a Balfour Beatty site.
Head office
We look after each other shortlist
Cole Hire team – Eddie Long, Kesh Walia & Raj Walia – Eddie and Kesh were walking to collect vans from our parking area and noticed a fire upstairs in a nearby house and that it seemed that no one was aware of this. The fire escalated very quickly. Eddy, Kesh, and Raj knocked on windows and doors to alert the occupants. They managed to get 3 people out from the house safely. Eddy kept them safe as the windows were smashing. Kesh guided them out along with Raj and Raj called the Fire Brigade. The occupants were unaware that their house upstairs was on fire. The fire was caused by leaving glasses on paper by a computer and popping out of the room whilst making a coffee. Their quick reactions and immediate response prevented a potentially life-threatening and tragic incident.
Ryan Rees, HSQE manager – Ryan received our ‘We achieve potential’ award in 2022. This year he is shortlisted for the work that he has done on mental health awareness. He has delivered presentations at head office, client sites and industry stakeholders to share his journey demonstrating his own strength and bravery. He was a guest speaker for Buildforce and supported EKFB & BBV with their wellbeing campaign. He has shown that its ok to show vulnerability and that there is always someone willing to help.
Nick Wells, Labour manager – This is not the first time we have heard about Nick going above and beyond to help people. One of our workers had many challenging things going on his life. He had no permanent accommodation, was suffering from mental health issues and failed a drugs and alcohol screening. Realising the impact that the loss of employment could have, Nick worked with him and the client to find a workable and safe solution for all. The worker has since passed a D&A screening, a regular random screening programme has been put in place and Nick has taken time out of his weekends to ensure that this person is truly supported.
Site
We look after each other shortlist
Jogi Singh, Supervisor, BBV HS2 – Jogi noticed an exposed open access chamber without any protection. Jogi stopped what he was doing and immediately arranged to get some barriers. He remained at the area until the barriers were delivered and then set them out. We were impressed to see that Jogi had the confidence and support to stop the works until he was satisfied that the site was safe, looking after hs colleagues and adhering to the VGC be Safe Rules
Kulsharanjit Singh-Boparai – Multi skilled operative, BBV HS2 – Kulsharanjit has worked for VGC since 2018 and has been recognized by BBV on his behaviour and attitude towards work. He was highly recommended for setting the right behaviours that should be followed by others. Creating a culture where people are respected, listened to and supported is integral in us achieving happy, productive and safe work environments.
