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FM CAREERS - NEWS
Willmott Dixon marks
employability initiative
milestone
Willmott Dixon’s focus on supporting local upskilling has
reached a major milestone with Birmingham Year 8 pupil
Miki Lin becoming the
1,000th person to complete
its enrichment programme
to equip young people with
key skills to succeed in the
workplace.
Since the enrichment
programme was established
in 2016, the company has
delivered it across 25 schools,
with students benefiting from
more than 600,000 hours of
learning provided by Willmott
Dixon people.
The six-week programme, aimed at pupils between Years
7 and 10, enables them to get involved in a wide range of
construction and employability-related activities. It allows
young people like Miki to receive first-hand insight from the
Willmott Dixon team about a range of operational, design,
digital and customer-focused roles.
Workplace not a ‘safe space’
to reveal mental health issues
One in six UK employees feel worried that raising mental
health concerns with their company could put them at
risk of losing their job, and 86 per cent believe that their
workplace is not a safe space for employees to be open
about mental health, a new report into employee mental
health and remote working has found.
Over the last 12 months, two in three employees have
experienced worse mental health at work, compared to the
previous year. As remote and hybrid working environments
continue to be adopted by more UK businesses, evidence
suggests that companies have struggled to adapt their
mental health support processes. One in three employees
feel less able to raise mental health concerns during remote
meetings, o en causing any issues to go unnoticed.
Full report available here: https://bit.ly/3kkKjmy
Home and hybrid working increases
productivity, suggests new CIPD research
The number of employers
who report that an increase
in homeworking has
increased their organisation’s
productivity or e iciency has
jumped significantly over the
last year, according to new
research from the CIPD.
When asked in December
2020, a third (33 per cent) of
employers said homeworking
had increased their
organisation’s productivity or
e iciency.
Under a fi h (18 per cent)
of employers say it has
decreased productivity,
compared to 23 per cent who
previously said the rise in
homeworking had decreased
productivity.
However, despite the
reported productivity
improvements associated
with home and hybrid
working, there is a potential
mismatch emerging between
the way organisations want
their employees to work
and how their people want
to work. One in four (25 per
cent) employers want their
employees to be in the o ice/
on site all the time, while 39
per cent of employees would
like to work from home all
or most of the time going
forward.
One reason for this
mismatch is likely to be
because a majority (63 per
cent) of employees who
can work in a hybrid way
still haven’t been asked
about their future working
preferences.
Claire McCartney, Senior
Policy Adviser for Resourcing
and Inclusion at the CIPD,
commented: “Everyone
should have the chance to
benefit from more choice
about when, where and how
they work. This can lead to
increased wellbeing and
engagement, and enhanced
performance, all of which
can lead to the productivity
gains many employers are
reporting.”
EMCOR UK accelerates Real
Living Wage deployment
From 1 April 2022, all EMCOR UK employees are earning
the Real Living Wage or above to help ease the impact
of the recent increase in the cost of living. Accredited as
a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider
in May 2021 EMCOR committed to pay the Real Living
Wage to its employees that worked in facilities leased to and occupied by the company;
to promote the adoption of the Real Living Wage to existing and potential customers and
supply chain partners; and to submit a separately costed Living Wage bid where possible.
Its ultimate aim was to pay all its 4,170 employees the Real Living Wage or above within
two years of becoming a Recognised Service Provider, but over the last year a number
of internal strategies accelerated the implementation of the Real Living Wage for all
employees, transitioned existing customer accounts to the Real Living Wage and included
Real Living Wage options in all its tenders.
Keith Chanter, CEO of EMCOR UK, said: “We are extremely proud that we are now
paying all our employees the Real Living Wage or above and that we have achieved this
within a year of becoming a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider. This
really is an outstanding achievement which supports our ambition to create a better
world at work and to help our employees live more comfortably, especially at a time
when the cost of living has significantly increased.”
BESA praises upgraded senior
technician apprenticeship
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA)
believes a newly updated and better financed Level
4 apprenticeship for senior technicians will play an
influential role in raising professional standards across
the building services sector.
The Minister for Apprenticeships and the Institute for
Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) have
unveiled the revised building services engineering
qualification with each apprentice supported by an
increased level of £13,000 in government funding.
74 MAY 2022
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