New policy promises include on employment and wages

Wates has unveiled a five-year social value strategy called Creating Opportunities which will focus on three key areas.

These are challenging inequality, inspiring and educating young people about careers in the built environment and supporting and scaling the social enterprise sector.

David Allen, Wates Group CEO

Key promises within the policy include hiring at least one person from a group identified to be severely distanced from employment on every project and launching a new primary school engagement programme to help encourage children to consider construction as a career at a younger age.

Wates chief executive David Allen (pictured) said: “By considering social value in our business decisions, including the way we employ staff, engage with communities and buy products and services, we can cultivate a more sustainable and inclusive society.”

> Building’s social value programme

The announcement comes at a time where the sector has upped its focus on social value with framework providers such as Scape and Pagabo both making it a key consideration when deciding who to appoint to their multi-billion-pound deals.

Last week, DSDHA was handed the inaugural Delivering Social Value Award at the 2020 Building Awards for its work on Central Somers Town.

Wates’ social value strategy: Creating Opportunities

Challenging inequality

  • Create opportunities for those furthest from the workforce, employing at least one person from an identified group* on every Wates project
  • Lead the construction sector in striving for fairer payment by Wates Group achieving Living Wage Recognised Service Provider status (RSP).

Inspiring and educating young people about careers in the built environment

  • Engage 25,000 young people about careers in construction and the built environment by 2025
  • Launch a new primary school engagement programme, Build Yourself: Junior, to help encourage children to consider construction as a career at a younger age

Supporting and scaling the social enterprise sector

  • Spend £25m with the social enterprise sector, resulting in a 10-year cumulative total of £45m by 2025
  • Pilot a new Mentoring for Growth programme in 2021, supporting Wates employees so they can act as business mentors to help at least five identified social enterprises to achieve national scale by 2025.

* identified groups: care leavers; ex-offenders; ex-Services; disabled; unemployed/NEET; homeless people 

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