5 Analysis

As a large organisation - leading the country as the UK’s sustainable construction materials, road contracting and building products business, Tarmac has the scope to make a real difference across the country.

It is committed to being much more than just a large employer in the communities it operates in. Tarmac plays a crucial role as an anchor institution, spreading impact far beyond its remit through the support of local projects and its supply chain.

Due to the width and breadth of its operations Tarmac has a significant influence across the Purpose Goals. Its approach is focused on people, planet and solutions, recognising and acting in the face of a myriad of challenges that society is facing today.

Tarmac is leading the way in spreading employment opportunities and positive destinations for young people post 16+ through its apprenticeship scheme and ‘Early Careers Support Plan’.

The organisation is an approved apprenticeship provider, the first in its sector, with nearly 300 apprentices currently employed. Crucially, these opportunities are strategically targeted at people from low socio-economic backgrounds - levelling up through offering deliberate support to individuals who are most in need of the opportunity, but may lack the specific qualifications or soft skills necessary.

Getting people into employment however, is only the first step in this process, Tarmac recognises that continued support once in the role is key for individuals to truly flourish and succeed. Its Early Careers Support Plan puts in place the correct processes to ensure that those starting out have mentors, learning programmes, and effective support.

Tarmac works with schools and local stakeholders to ensure these early career opportunities are available to those without the necessary network of contacts, meeting Purpose Goal Number 5 - Open Recruitment. Tarmac ensures that it has an anonymised and inclusive recruitment process, with all staff involved extensively trained in unconscious bias.

The impact of these policies, and partnerships with organisations to connect with hard to reach groups, are shown in Tarmac’s internal demographic data. This data shows that nearly 60 per cent of those in its early careers identify as being within the ‘global majority’, compared to an industry average of 13 per cent.

Tarmac’s comprehensive employee journey and development plan ensures that it has significant impact against Goal 6 of the Purpose Goals - Fair Career Progression. The organisation offers targeted schemes and courses for all employees through its ‘Leadership Academy’.

The Tarmac Employer Development Programme (EDP) also offers the opportunity for employees to work in small project groups to identify and address ideas that will help the business and its customers, focusing on input from frontline employees and team leaders.

On the back of Covid-19 and the steep challenges facing customers, colleagues and communities currently, employee mental and physical health has never been more relevant. Tarmac offers an Employee Assistance Programme, open to all staff available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

Within the organisation, there is also a network of trained mental health first aiders, extensive wellbeing training for line managers, and mental health awareness training embedded in several employee training programmes.

As the UK’s leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business, Infrastructure and building sustainable communities infrastructure is at the heart of Tarmac’s purpose.

Crucially, Tarmac’s approaches are grounded in sustainability - with research and development ongoing to ensure materials and processes are as sustainable as possible. It is also supporting its supply chain partners on their journey to net zero and it is consistently looking for new ways to improve through its ‘Innovation Challenge’.

Underpinning all of Tarmac’s work across the purpose agenda is its commitment to equality and diversity. The organisation’s ‘Inclusion Plan’ sets out its ambitions and commitment to foster a culture of inclusion through boosting diversity and embedding this across all of its departments, projects, and operations.

Tarmac is committed to go even further in its already extensive and industry-leading work in boosting social mobility and equality of opportunity through the prioritising of its internal organisational purpose and the Purpose Agenda. As a business, it acknowledges that due to its size and number of locations it, as a company, can create lasting change in the communities it is based in, contributing significantly to levelling up social mobility cold spots in the future.