Community engagement

We support communities by recruiting locally wherever possible and investing in training, apprenticeships and career development. By offering opportunities to those who face additional barriers to work, we’re helping to address skills shortages and build a more inclusive and sustainable workforce.

For more information on our work in this area, please visit our Employee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion focus area page.

We’re committed to creating economic value in the communities where we work by supporting small and local businesses. Wherever possible, we prioritise local spend, working with SMEs, social enterprises and other suppliers based near our project sites to keep investment close to home. This spend is one of the most significant contributors to the social value we generate – strengthening local economies, enabling SMEs to grow and helping them create more employment opportunities in their communities.

We also work closely with our supply chain partners to open contract opportunities to small local businesses, promoting inclusive procurement practices and helping build a more resilient supply chain. This includes actively supporting female-owned businesses and those with social or environmental missions.

As part of our commitment to long-term social impact, we’ve set a new target to deliver 60,000 hours of engagement with education by 2030¹¹ – helping to build the skills pipeline our industry needs for the future.

Through inclusive learning experiences, we’re helping young people explore careers in the built environment. Prioritising working with schools where we can make the greatest difference – whether through existing relationships, STEM potential or wider community needs – we’re ensuring our outreach is meaningful, relevant and supports a diverse range of students to realise their potential.

Through our partnership with Industrial Cadets, we offer three types of accredited work experience that blend classroom learning with real-world exposure:

• Industry Insights – a structured, week-long virtual work experience programme.
• In-person work experience – traditional placements providing hands-on learning opportunities.
• T Level placements – extended in-person placements as part of technical qualifications and seen as a pathway into apprenticeships.

By offering flexible, inclusive options, it removes common barriers to participation and engages a wider range of young people, ensuring they can explore careers in our industry in a way that suits them.

Alongside this, our people play an active role in engaging with education, dedicating thousands of hours each year to support schools and colleges through workshops, mentoring and site visits that bring the built environment to life.

We want to make a meaningful difference in the communities we serve by creating more opportunities for volunteering and charitable giving. Our people are central to this commitment – using their two days of paid
volunteering time to support causes close to their hearts and the communities where we work.

To make volunteering and charitable giving as accessible and impactful as possible we:

• Partner with STEM Learning, our main corporate charity, to support teacher training, mentoring, and work placements.
• Give our people the opportunity to connect directly with community projects in need of funding or volunteers via an online portal which will launch in phases in 2025 and 2026.

Whether it’s by sharing their skills to help social enterprises grow, creating community spaces or supporting education and upskilling initiatives, we’re supporting our employees to make a difference.

¹¹ Measured against a 2025 baseline