Member Article

North East firms are set to change the face of construction

The traditional view of the construction sector is that of a bastion of male domination and a ‘jobs for the boys’ workplace culture.

That legacy is reflected in the fact that women employed in construction make up only 12% of the workforce, and less than 1% of all manual roles.

But the transformation of the gender divide is now under way thanks to initiatives like the Be Fair Framework.

Led by CITB, the Framework has been developed by the industry for the industry in partnership with Constructing Equality.

Working with 100 companies across Great Britain, Be Fair is an accreditation for the construction and built environment sector which focuses on Fairness, Inclusion and Respect in the workplace.

This is the very first industry-specific equality framework, which encourages businesses to adopt practices to help employers discover the business and commercial benefit of fully harnessing diversity.

With confidence in construction growing, the sector needs 182,000 qualified construction workers in the next five years to meet the skills demand. They are the workers needed to build projects such as Public Housing which has recently been boosted by boosted by Newcastle City Council’s plans to spend around £130m building 1,200 new homes on council owned land. Infrastructure is also set to contribute, with the development of MGT Power Ltd’s £400m biomass power plant.

If we are going to tackle the industry’s lingering image problem and change negative cultures, we need to ensure the sector attracts and retains the best and brightest talent regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and background.

We need these workers to stay in construction so we can benefit from their knowledge, experiences and skills.

The framework accreditation has been awarded by CITB to achieving companies Interceil, Northumbrian Roads Ltd and Meldrum Construction Services in the local area. These companies have become some of the first in the country to be rewarded for their commitment to Fairness Inclusion and Respect in the workforce.

The Be Fair framework will help create more inclusive working environments, both in offices and on sites, to ensure that all workers are treated fairly and with respect.

Congratulations to the companies in the North East which have achieved the Be Fair accreditation. They are at the forefront of the transformation of construction’s public image.

By Steve Housden, CITB Sector Strategy Manager for the North East region

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steve Housden .