Skills

PLAYLE & PARTNERS

INVESTS IN LOCAL SKILLS

Founded in 1954, Playle & Partners LLP has been a firm fixture in the Sidcup community for more than two thirds of a century. Starting as Quantity Surveyors, they extended their services to include Architecture, Building Surveying, Project Management, Party Wall Advice and Principal Designer/CDM Consultancy. By adopting a collaborative approach, the firm has delivered complex construction schemes from start to finish, projects that have changed the skyline of Sidcup and benefited the local community.

Playle & Partners has had a positive influence in the area by recruiting local people and developing the next generation of construction talent.

Sarah Primarolo, partner at Playle & Partners, says: “We focus heavily on training and recruit from the locality. On the back of this we’ve won awards and we were highly commended for our commitment to business, education and skills in the 2020 London Borough of Bexley awards.”

“We also offer work experience placements throughout the year to young people at school or college. They work one day in each department to give them a flavour of the industry.”

Playle & Partners’ commitment to developing local skills has been recognised in its Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, a business improvement tool designed to advance an organisation’s performance through its employees.

“When we take on undergraduates on placement, we set aside one day a week so they can attend their university course,” says Sarah. “We understand the value of investing in people.”

“We appointed five new equity partners recently and three of us went to Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School and have grown up in the area. If you’re an employer, its important to immerse yourself in the community. We attend local careers fairs to source talent and make them aware of the broad range of careers in this industry”

Playle & Partners was originally formed as a chartered quantity surveying practice and very quickly developed into a multi-disciplinary consultancy, responsive to the constantly changing needs of clients and the marketplace. With 35 staff, the firm employs Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, Building Surveyors and Principal Designers and covers all aspects of a project, from inception to completion. This collaborative approach promotes a sharing of knowledge and lateral thinking to every client’s brief, informing the design decisions based on sustainability, innovation, cost control and experience. The company’s objective is to deliver the highest level of service, with expert advice, actively pursuing continual improvement to enhance living and wellbeing.

Sarah says: “Most of our work is done in partnership with local authorities, housing associations, schools and charities. We have a good range of projects, from residential and leisure schemes to refurbishments of schools and community centres. We’re determined to put something back into the community that we’ve known for so many decades.”