Awards

Building Plymouth is crowned winner at the Constructing Excellence Southwest Awards

BPART – Building Plymouth’s Aspiring Rising Talent Network won the People & Culture Award 2024 at the Constructing Excellence Southwest Awards held on 18 July at Aerospace Bristol.

Launched in January 2023, the BPART network aims to bring together local apprentices and recent graduates who are working within the Building Plymouth network to enhance their construction training experience whilst helping to create new professional relationships.

Cllr Sally Cresswell, Cabinet member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships at Plymouth City Council said: “Huge congratulations to our Building Plymouth team, we are delighted that BPART has been awarded one of the most prominent accolades in the South-West’s built environment which celebrates exemplary practices from across the region. This innovative and pro-active approach to motivating, developing and supporting new entrants joining the industry fully deserves to be recognised and this learning can now be replicated elsewhere. As an inclusive programme for local construction apprentices and recent graduates, BPART offers significant added value to their on-the-job learning and a strong network for peer support.”

Representing BPART Class of 2023, Elijah Bennett, Assistant Digital Construction Coordinator with Kier Construction said: “Attending the awards ceremony was a great honour and I was so happy to see a programme like BPART being recognised by industry professionals which demonstrated to me how important it is to invest into new starters in the construction industry. As an apprentice working in the industry, everything can seem very daunting and complicated. But through attending BPART, I was able to learn so much about how great the construction industry is and meet people in the same position as me who were experiencing construction for the first time.”

Joining Elijah on stage to accept the award, Emily Gilbert, Construction Management Trainee with Kier Construction said: “It was great as an apprentice to see all the hard work by a variety of different parties to be recognised by industry professionals. Attending the awards ceremony demonstrated that programmes like BPART have a placed in the industry for those just starting their career. Being selected to be the BPART chair was a great opportunity to enhance my personal development and meet new people across the industry. It allowed me to understand all the pieces that fit together that allow a construction project to be successful.”

Building Plymouth member Ward Williams was instrumental in helping to develop and launch the BPART network which involves coordinating a programme of regular site visits and monthly workshop sessions delivered by prominent construction employers along with sessions covering mental health and well-being, health and safety, leadership and teamwork, mentoring, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Nikki Griffiths, Partner at Ward Williams and Vice-Chair of Building Plymouth said: “It is so exciting to see our BPART initiative winning a regional award. We know this approach is a really positive move forward in developing junior talent for the construction industry. With an increase in apprenticeships across the industry in both technical and skilled aspects, we felt an inclusive programme that all construction apprentices could be a part of would be a positive addition to their ‘on the job’ learning. BPART offers a platform where apprentices and recent graduates can really develop their understanding of other roles in the sector, how individuals and teams work together to deliver construction projects and develop a rapport with others at similar stages of their career.”

Local employer Sam Morecombe, Pre-Construction Manager at Obedair Construction delivers regular workshops and actively encourages her apprentices to participate in the BPART programme. Supporting the interview with the judges prior to the award winner decisions, Sam said: “Increasing apprenticeship starts and completions, developing higher level and graduate level skills, along with improving the retention of this newly skilled workforce is a key priority for the construction industry and we know BPART is helping us deliver these ambitions. I am thrilled that BPART has been recognised through winning the People & Culture Award which sums up the success of our city-wide collaborative efforts.”

As a regional winner, Building Plymouth is now through to the national Constructing Excellence awards taking place on 15 November 2024 at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel.

Emma crowned Inspirational Leader at the West Country Women Awards 2022

Emma Hewitt, Skills Lead at Plymouth City Council has won the Inspirational Leader Award as part of the prestigious West Country Women Awards 2022 which celebrates the top achievements and triumphs of women across the region from all communities.

Sponsored by WWA, the Inspirational Leader Award category recognises those who have stepped up to challenges whilst inspiring others around them. Emma was nominated, twice, for her leadership of the Building Plymouth skills partnership with the construction industry, the vision for Skills Launchpad Plymouth (which has already been recognised with Innovation Awards locally and regionally), and as a volunteer, for leading The Road to Mayflower project as part of the Mayflower400 commemorations.

Plymouth City Council Special Recognition Award

The annual Plymouth City Council STAR Awards celebrate staff achievements and successes and Building Plymouth’s Emma Hewitt was recognised with a ‘Special Recognition Award’.
This award is presented to a select number of staff members who have achieved extraordinary outcomes and results due to the hard work and commitment they have to their roles and the city of Plymouth.
Emma was acknowledged for all her work on Building Plymouth, the unique partnership between local construction and built environment stakeholders, working together to support the booming construction pipeline in the city.

Herald Business Award

The Building Plymouth partnership celebrated receiving a Highly Commended Award for Apprenticeship Development at the Herald Business Awards in 2017. Over the previous two years since the launch of Building Plymouth, the city had seen a 60% increase in apprenticeships in construction.

G4C AWARD

Building Plymouth’s Emma Hewitt was recognised in the Constructing Excellence G4C Young Achiever of the Year Awards in 2017.
Working on behalf of the Council-led Building Plymouth partnership, Emma’s role was to actively promote careers in construction and the built environment to attract more local people to join the industry. She proudly accepted this award on behalf of the partnership from the event sponsor Morgan Sindall at an event held at the Met Office in Exeter.