| INSIGHT
Delivering
S O C I A L VA L U E THROUGH MENTORING John Rowan and Partners has issued a challenge to companies working within the public sector to rethink how they can support the emerging new generation of workers in a post-lockdown world. It’s great for the construction sector to be embracing the idea of ‘building back better’ but Ken Morgan, Equity Partner and Head of the Public Sector Regeneration team, has an idea of what ‘better’ could actually look like…
Now that the construction industry is beginning to ramp up its work programme, we don’t want to lose sight of what building back better could mean in the public sector, particularly for the young people that live and work within the communities we work in. The public sector has a long history of promoting social value through procurement but we feel now is the time to make this even more robust and really define what value we can provide to the communities that really need it. 10
Don’t underestimate the value in mentoring
Covid makes this even more important.
There are many ways that businesses like ours can help communities – whether it’s working with local schools or colleges to provide work experience or CV writing workshops, participating in mentoring programmes or joining forces with organisations like the Construction Youth Trust.
We are in a world now where unemployment is rising, businesses are folding, and others are merging to try and save costs. The same is true for our clients, such as housing associations, and there’s a real need to address the skills and experience gap this environment creates – and that doesn’t only apply to young people who are just starting out on their career journeys.
The construction industry has a great history in sharing its skills and expertise with the wider community, but the impact of
