The new Chief Executive has started work for Interserve. In the middle of November 2016 it was announced that Adrian Ringrose, Chief Executive at the time, was handing in his notice. Adrian worked until the end of the day on the 31st August 2017 in order to ensure that the
Kier Group plc is a leading supplier of property residential and construction services. The group has announced that they will be pledging 1% of their workforce, who will be acting as career ambassadors. As part of this scheme the ambassadors will work in schools and colleges over the course of
Peace Recruitment Group, experts in the built environment, has revealed that its Trades and Labour Department has doubled in size over the last six months after much demand. Tamara Jaberu, a director at Peace who founded the Trades and Labour Department in January 2012, believes the good news coming out of
Taylor&Emmet LLP is expanding its commercial property team to strengthen the legal advice it provides to North Derbyshire’s rural businesses. Bryony Shaw joins the Sheffield-based solicitors to take on a mixed workload of commercial work at the firm’s Bakewell office. She will be assisting Taylor&Emmet’s commercial property partner in Bakewell,
GRAHAM has appointed Dave Brown as its new contracts director for highways projects, leading on the delivery of the Highways England Collaborative Delivery Framework. Dave is an experienced and highly capable professional who has vast experience of large, multidisciplinary projects across a multitude of sectors including marine, rail, tram, highways
Haddon Training is a OFSTED Grade 1 ‘Outstanding’ Training Provider who has been delivering work-based learning for over 20 years. We have been approved by the government to provide training within the Business sector and have funding opportunities available. If you are an employer with over £3m payroll, we are
The Midas Group has announced a significant new appointment to its senior management team to continue the company’s expansion in the South East of England. Peter Whitmore has joined Midas, one of the largest independent construction companies in the UK, in the role of Divisional Director for the Southern region.
Stroma has announced a significant executive recruitment with Martin Holt joining the Group as its new Chief Executive Officer. It is the latest statement of intent from Stroma during a period where the Group has grown both organically and via acquisition to represent one of the largest niche service providers
Government approval has been secured for the new Trailblazer Apprenticeship. The approval has been given for the apprenticeship standards for arboriculture, forestry, horticulture and landscaping. A number of different employers have been involved in making sure that the initiative gains the correct approvals and have been congratulated on the success
The civil engineering contractor Seymour Civil Engineering has spoken about how important it is that apprenticeship providers work in order to tackle the increasing shortage of skilled workers. The North East based company has said that companies that offer apprenticeships need to make sure that they are working to reduce
The new Chief Executive has started work for Interserve. In the middle of November 2016 it was announced that Adrian Ringrose, Chief Executive at the time, was handing in his notice. Adrian worked until the end of the day on the 31st August 2017 in order to ensure that the transition to the new Chief Executive went as smoothly as possible. The newly appointed Debbie White started in her new role on the 1st of September 2017. Debbie has joined the team at Interserve after working for 13 years at the support service company Sodexo. In her previous role Debbie White was the CEO of Global Healthcare and Government. Debbie will be an asset to the company and will help to develop Interserve further and their boost facilities management services. In her new role it is thought that Debbie White will be guiding Interserve through a transitional phase, as the company turn their focus to their facilities management, catering and cleaning services as opposed to their construction and civil engineering divisions that have been at the forefront of their business for so long. Debbie’s work will continue on this path following an announcement that was made recently claiming that the business will no longer be competing on construction contracts that exceed £10 million. Interserve is known for being a multi-national support services and construction company that is based in the UK. The business focuses offering advice, design, construction, equipment and facilities management as well as supplying a range of frontline public services. Debbie White’s Predecessor meanwhile, worked longer than his nine months’ notice period, and will leave Interserve with an exit payment which is said to be £325,593. This payment has been calculated in respect of the basic pay which will stretch until the 7th of March, and when Adrian’s notice period ends.
Kier Group plc is a leading supplier of property residential and construction services. The group has announced that they will be pledging 1% of their workforce, who will be acting as career ambassadors. As part of this scheme the ambassadors will work in schools and colleges over the course of the next y12 months in order to try and increase the amount of people considering a career in the industry. A new report has been published recently which shows that parents have shown a significant level of concerns about the quality of careers advice which is made available to secondary schools. The concerns are heightened as GCSE results decline. Kier, the FTSE 250 construction and services group commissioned the report which included 2,000 parents, teachers and careers advisors of children who are aged between 12 and 18 and in the UK state education sector. The survey revealed that two thirds of the teacher and careers advisors involved had a negative view of the construction industry and the potential career routes on offer. Over 80% of the parents involved in the survey weren’t aware that it was possible for big construction companies to pay for university degree courses. And 90% of teachers across the UK didn’t know about the recruitment shortfall that is being experienced in the construction industry. As a result of this survey, Kier have pledged a minimum of 15 of their workforce for the role of Career Ambassadors in order to establish a better relationship with schools and colleges across the UK. Through this scheme, Kier hope to engage with at least 10,000 pupils over the course of the next 12 months. If every company in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 followed this 1% pledge in order to commit to the improvement of employment and skills, a powerful and influential network could be created that would be able to work to inform and inspire the next generation.
Peace Recruitment Group, experts in the built environment, has revealed that its Trades and Labour Department has doubled in size over the last six months after much demand. Tamara Jaberu, a director at Peace who founded the Trades and Labour Department in January 2012, believes the good news coming out of Peace is further evidence that the UK construction sector is flourishing despite all the recent negative headlines. Tamara explains: “The construction sector in the UK is definitely in a good place right now, more work is coming into the market and employers are looking to hire. Our trades and labour department exceeded all expectations last year, and as a result we have hired three new recruits since April, meaning we now have a team of six. This enables us to provide a much fuller service to Edinburgh and the Lothians, the Glasgow area and Aberdeen and Dundee. I’m delighted to say we are on course to have a record year again. “There are various reasons for our success, with repeat business being one of the key components. We class ourselves as a transparent recruitment business, meaning clients get exactly what they pay for. We don’t make promises we can’t fulfil, we build up trust by being honest with clients even if sometimes it means telling them something they don’t want to hear. This is the ethos of the whole business.” Tamara adds: “The major challenge we are facing in Trades and Labour just now is a shortage of candidates. When I started the department back in 2012, clients had their pick of good quality candidates. However, now this has almost spun on its head and its the skilled candidates who now hold most of the power. Firms can still find the right people but competition is fierce. Employers need to be aware that it may take more time to find the right candidate, they need to be flexible in what they are looking for, and they need to put together as attractive a package as possible.” The success of the trades and labour department, alongside the huge increase in turnover, as well as the launch of Peace’s new bespoke website, its re-branding and the launch of its new temp division, are all seen as key developments in the recruiters quest to become the recruitment company of choice for the built environment by 2020. Peace For more information please visit www.peacerecruitment.co.uk.
Taylor&Emmet LLP is expanding its commercial property team to strengthen the legal advice it provides to North Derbyshire’s rural businesses. Bryony Shaw joins the Sheffield-based solicitors to take on a mixed workload of commercial work at the firm’s Bakewell office. She will be assisting Taylor&Emmet’s commercial property partner in Bakewell, George Thomson, on new and existing matters for a wide range of organisations based in and around the popular market town. Bryony worked previously at Sheffield firm, Ironmonger Curtis, where she provided corporate support for the sale and purchase of dental practices. She said: “Taking on a much wider commercial property remit is enabling me to broaden my knowledge base and technical skills. Taylor&Emmet is a large firm with professional support systems and I have been really impressed with what I’ve seen so far.” George Thomson added: “Bryony is a welcome addition to our team. Her enthusiasm, regional knowledge and excellent application of commercial property law will enhance the services we provide locally. Bakewell serves a varied client base and I have no doubt she will quickly cement her place within the town’s business community.” For more information about the range of rural business services offered by Taylor&Emmet’s Bakewell office, telephone (01629) 812613, visit www.tayloremmet.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter, @tayloremmet.
GRAHAM has appointed Dave Brown as its new contracts director for highways projects, leading on the delivery of the Highways England Collaborative Delivery Framework. Dave is an experienced and highly capable professional who has vast experience of large, multidisciplinary projects across a multitude of sectors including marine, rail, tram, highways and power. Most recently, he has been involved in a multi-billion-pound framework bid for the Highways England framework, providing operational support and acting as a key representative on various forums and boards. Prior to joining GRAHAM, Dave worked for Kier Infrastructure, where he was project director of the Wakefield Waste PFI Contract, a £100M scheme involving the construction of a complex waste handling facility in conjunction with a wide range of stakeholders. In his current role, Dave is a key presenter in the Highways Strategic Alignment Review Tool (StART) process, which looks at how GRAHAM aligns its business operations, culture and strategy to Highways England’s business and delivery models. He will work closely with senior management and board members as the key driver behind the two businesses’ alignment. Dave commented: “I am delighted to be taking on this role within GRAHAM, and I hope that with my extensive experience of multidisciplinary projects and my collaborative and forward-thinking approach to working, I can help the business achieve its operational goals and vision to be a £1billion turnover business by 2021. “Our civil engineering division has been involved in some very prestigious projects nationwide in recent years, and I am excited at the prospect of leading on the Highways England Collaborative Delivery Framework. “Highways England is delivering the largest roads investment in a generation and we want to become an essential component of this delivery. My aim is to work as closely as possible with key stakeholders to form an integrated team which will work on the growth, development and upgrade of the Highways England network.” In his 28-year career, Dave has enjoyed many highlights, one of the proudest being when he received peer and industry recognition by being nominated as project manager of the year in 2001. Many of Dave’s projects have received awards, including an ICE Highly commended award, a Considerate Constructors national ‘Gold’ award and a Highways Agency Zero Safety Award. Dave has always worked on high profile projects, leading Structures teams in the M40 and M1 widening, along with the Sheffield Supertram project, both of which were award-winning. His management of the A63 Melton Grade Seperated Junction Scheme, which resulted in the safe delivery of the project, and the award of a prestigious zero accidents safety award to the project team, was highly praised by the Highways Agency. Dave added: “I have overseen a wide variety of projects in the last 18 years of my career and believe GRAHAM has the expertise and knowledge to expand its service offering in the highways sector. “We are a family-owned company and continue to work with traditional skills and values. I believe this is what will help us secure long-term partnerships, and with our collaborative and safety-first approach, we can become the partner of choice in the industry.” GRAHAM’s civil engineering division has been involved in some of the most prestigious projects undertaken in the regions within which it operates, including the Tennison Road Bridge Replacement for Network Rail, the A138 Chelmer Viaduct for Highways England, Gladstone Biomass Facility in Liverpool, the M80 Stepps to Haggs project in central Scotland, the iconic Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin and the M1/M2/Westlink upgrades in Belfast. Through centuries of expertise, GRAHAM is recognised as one of the most experienced and trusted names in civil engineering, construction and asset management in the UK and Ireland.
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The Midas Group has announced a significant new appointment to its senior management team to continue the company’s expansion in the South East of England. Peter Whitmore has joined Midas, one of the largest independent construction companies in the UK, in the role of Divisional Director for the Southern region. He will be based at the company’s regional head office, near Southampton, and will continue to drive the company’s highly successful Southern division, where Midas first opened a regional office in 2008. Peter has more than 25 years’ experience within the construction industry. He joins the company having previously held the role of Business Unit Director for Wates in the South and South West. He has also held a number of senior leadership roles with Morgan Sindall. Peter takes over the reins from Paul Strachan, who has become Divisional Director for Midas in the South East, with a focus on extending Midas’s activities further across the South East region – including establishing a new regional headquarters. Midas has experienced strong growth over recent years across the South East and the company is already delivering on several major developments in the region, including large schemes in New Malden and Seaford, near Brighton Alan Hope, Chief Executive of The Midas Group, said: “This appointment is a significant move for Midas. Peter will play a crucial role in the continued growth of Midas in the South, with the target of reaching a £100m turnover per annum in the region. With improving market conditions and a reputation built on delivering industry leading customer service and performance, this is an exciting time for Midas.” Peter Whitmore said: “I’m delighted to be joining Midas, one of the UK’s largest and most successful independent construction companies. There are significant opportunities for the group in the South and South East and I look forward to working with Alan and Paul to build on the success that Midas has already achieved in the region over recent years.”
Stroma has announced a significant executive recruitment with Martin Holt joining the Group as its new Chief Executive Officer. It is the latest statement of intent from Stroma during a period where the Group has grown both organically and via acquisition to represent one of the largest niche service providers to the built environment and major UK industries. Martin Holt has more than 25 years’ experience working at executive level in businesses serving the built environment. He has held senior positions with Mitie, Dalkia PLC, Trend and most recently served as Chief Executive of Bellrock Property & Facilities Management. He is highly experienced in strategic planning, business transformation and integration for multi-national corporate businesses and this expertise will be crucial to deliver on the Stroma Group’s ambitious growth and expansion strategies. The Stroma Group celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2017 and they continue to thrive within the built environment industry through the excellent performance of core services, augmented with ongoing new development and service diversification for customers. The Group now serves clients throughout the construction lifecycle from design through handover and into operation for a range of domestic and commercial projects. In recent years the Group has acquired three independent CIC approved inspector businesses in Approved Design Consultancy, BBS Building Control and Greendoor Building Control, as well as HRS Services in early 2017 (to complement the environmental sustainability services offered through Stroma Tech). Martin joins Stroma to spearhead an already extremely strong senior management team following similar executive appointments this year of Chris Whitehead (as Managing Director of Stroma Tech/HRS Services), Steve Horrocks (as Managing Director of Stroma Certification), Dave Allen (as Managing Director of Building Control) and Jo Dobson (as Group Finance Director). Stroma founders, Matthew Ferguson and Robert Coxon, announced the appointment of Martin Holt saying: “We are delighted that Martin has agreed to accept this position as Group CEO and would like to warmly welcome him to Stroma. His track record is extremely impressive and he will undoubtedly deliver on the huge future potential of our Group, create more opportunities for our staff and further improve the service quality we deliver to our clients and customers.” Martin Holt said: “Stroma is at an exciting time in its development; Rob, Matt and the Stroma Group board have built a business with excellent prospects for growth, both organically and through further acquisitions. I’m looking forward to working with the board, clients and colleagues to lead the business through the next chapter in its growth story.” To discover more about Stroma, visit www.stroma.com.
Government approval has been secured for the new Trailblazer Apprenticeship. The approval has been given for the apprenticeship standards for arboriculture, forestry, horticulture and landscaping. A number of different employers have been involved in making sure that the initiative gains the correct approvals and have been congratulated on the success of the project so far. Businesses from across this sector have been working to develop a new collection of apprenticeships that would be able to meet the needs of the arboriculture, forestry, horticulture and landscape sectors going forward. The project first started in 2015 and involved more than 40 employers, 8 industry bodies and 18 other training and assessment organisations. This group have managed to successfully work together in order to develop and improve the apprenticeship standards in this sector. The different companies and organisations carried out the work under Richard Trippett, from Bartlett Tree Experts and Geraint Richards of the Duchy of Cornwall as well as Ground Control’s Neil Huck. As well as the developments that have been made to the standards of apprenticeships in the Arborist, Forest Operative Horticulture and landscape areas there has been a new standard created. This new standard sees the creation of a Horticulture and Landscape Supervisor which has been approved and will be a part of the Trailblazer groups assessment plans and specifications laid out while training. Trailblazer Apprenticeships have been supported by the businesses involved in the project from the start, It is hiped that the apprenticeships will lead to more young people getting involved in this sector and training in order to gain approved qualifications and a career path in the landscaping and horticulture industry. Now that the apprenticeships have been developed, the Trailblazer Project are looking forward, an intend to work more with employers and trainers in order to make sure that the apprenticeship positions are filled and the training is carried out successfully in the future.
The civil engineering contractor Seymour Civil Engineering has spoken about how important it is that apprenticeship providers work in order to tackle the increasing shortage of skilled workers. The North East based company has said that companies that offer apprenticeships need to make sure that they are working to reduce the demand for skilled workers in order to support the industry into the future. Engineering UK published research that had been carried out in to the shortage of workers at the minute and has found that companies would need to recruit a total of 56,000 engineers each year, every year, until 2022 in order to cut the shortage that is apparent in the sector. At the moment, the data shows that there is a shortfall of around 28,000 apprentices each year. Another study has been carried out by Adecco which has shown that a quarter of the employees in the UK that contribute towards the apprenticeship levy don’t actually take on and train any apprentices. Therefore those that contribute to the levy could help to support the industry and reduce the demand for skilled workers that is getting worse by offering apprenticeship places. Seymour Civil Engineering has looked at all of the information available and feels that the training of apprentices is vital for the future of the sector and the wider construction industry as a whole. Therefore the business will continue to take on apprentices. The Civil Engineering company has seen great results from the apprenticeship scheme they have in place in the industry as well as the wider community. The business also believes that working with local colleges and training boards is essential to educate students about the different areas and career options open to them. Apprenticeships also help those going through the training, giving them actual work experience instead of theoretical knowledge. This allows them to make more informed decisions about what area they would be interested in starting a career in as well as building connections with businesses and getting hands on experience.
