More than £275,000 of social value has been created across the North West Midlands as part of a construction industry drive that supports local community initiatives alongside main projects.
Seddon was appointed to the Scape Regional Construction framework in January 2018 to carry out construction services up to £750,000 for public sector clients across the North West Midlands.
The framework is committed to enabling value for money and has been specifically designed to evidence social value via the National TOMs (themes, outcomes, measures) method developed with the Social Value Portal.
Via this methodology, the performance management team at Scape Group have calculated that to date, Seddon has contributed significant social value throughout Staffordshire and Derbyshire by engaging with local supply chains and SMEs, as well as offering employment to local people.
Key completed projects have included a number of works for the University of Derby, including replacing external cladding on existing buildings, refurbishing lecture theatres and converting existing classrooms into a mock hospital ward for specialist training.
During these projects, quantity surveying students from the university were given on-site work experience to aid their development.
As a result of this work, Seddon project skills manager, Emma Dempster, was invited to join the University of Derby’s Built Environment Industry Advisory Board, which offers guidance to students who are preparing for a career in construction.
The company has also supported Derby College by providing work experience placements to Level 3 construction students and delivered a talk at a Women in STEM event aimed a local Year 9 school pupils.
Recently, a team from Seddon repainted and replaced the floors of the main hall of Queensberry Police Amateur Boxing Club, Stoke, to enable the club to better raise funds by renting out the space to other groups in the local community.
Furthermore, the company has delivered dedicated mental health first aid sessions to its subcontractors in the region.
Emma Dempster, project skills manager for Seddon, said: “Frameworks are at the heart of our company and are a valuable work stream for our business. To date, our appointment to the Scape Regional Construction framework has given us the opportunity to collaborate with a number of high profile public sector clients.
“Being able to do so while adding tangible social value is more than an added extra for us. These community projects are about personal growth and wellbeing; they allow us to provide local employment opportunities to SME partners and boost skills by increasing the number of apprentices and trainees in the area.”
Alison Ramsey, Scape Group social value and performance manager, commented: “Social value is embedded at the heart of everything we do at Scape Group and is an intrinsic part of the Regional Construction framework. I am delighted that Seddon has embraced this approach and consistently deliver clear economic benefits to the local community.”