At Esh Group, we provide financial support and staff resource to assist community projects and other charitable initiatives across our operational areas. Our community engagement programmes help improve the local economy, keep the community safe and develop our staff, whilst also raising awareness of our business.
Building My Skills (BMS) is a year-long employability skills, information and guidance programme which provides students aged 14-19 with a rounded introduction to the world of work. It is facilitated through timetabled business engagement sessions, which are aligned with Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 curriculums.
Esh Group partner with educational establishments for an entire academic year, with a whole year group receiving 5 x 1-hour employability guidance sessions delivered by a different business guest.
Each business guest provides insight into their sector and career path, shares transferable employability skills and provides support with the completion of the student’s employability portfolio.
The 2017/18 employability portfolio consists of a scheme of work which includes plotting a career path, improving the student’s online appearance, understanding ‘the world of work’, producing a CV and cover letter and delivering quality interviews. Students who attend all sessions, complete their employability portfolio and show outstanding effort are offered a mock interview, which in some cases leads to work experience and employment opportunities.
Now in its 7th academic year, we are proud to work with 120 businesses to deliver BMS in 71 schools across our operational regions. BMS is delivered at no cost and has received local, regional and national recognition, including winning the Business in the Community’s National Education Award in 2015.
We are already planning for Building My Skills 2018/19 – if your school or business would like to join us, please contact your local Added Value coordinator.
At Esh Group, we recognise the importance of inspiring the next generation to consider a STEM career from an early age. Get into STEM is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-themed Primary School programme which engages Early Years and Key Stage 1 students in construction through an interactive ‘classroom in a box’.
The kits contain fun and educational resources which are commonly used in construction, including; books, foam bricks, measuring equipment and over 40 different toys and materials. The resources encourage active learning and critical thinking through dressing up, job role play, building and measuring.
Esh Group staff transport the kits to primary schools across our operational areas and deliver a 40-minute interactive workshop showcasing each of the activities within the kit. The kit is loaned to the school for 2-weeks, free of charge, allowing school staff to use the resources to support the curriculum and free play. The kits are engaging and educational aligning with the 7 Early Years Foundation Studies and Key Stage 1 learning outcomes.
In 2017, Get into STEM won the Civil Engineering Contractor Association’s (CECA) North East ‘Going the Extra Mile’ Award, CECA’s National ‘Inspiring Education’ Award and Business in the Community’s National Education Partnership Award.
Within the last 12 months, Get into STEM has been delivered in 73 schools and the kits have been used by over 3,200 students.
If you are interested in booking Get into STEM for your school, please contact your local Added Value Coordinator.
Esh Group aims to improve the employability prospects of residents and students in the communities where we work by offering work experience opportunities on our sites and in our offices. Candidates gain insight and an understanding of the construction industry throughout their placement, enabling them to develop the ‘soft skills’ required in the workplace, and differentiate themselves when competing for future jobs.
We organise work experience placements within Esh Group and externally with our suppliers. We offer placements in 15 different occupations including; traditional site trades, quantity surveying, civil engineering, marketing, events management and IT.
The opportunity to gain experience starts from the application stage, as our formalised process ensures applications for placements are made by submitting an online application and CV, like most job applications. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by the relevant Esh Group staff, which often gives candidates their first experience of a formal interview.
Candidates are assigned a workplace mentor for the duration of their placement. They are involved with real tasks, practice teamwork and experience a variety of situations which they write about in their work experience log book.
Within the last 12 months, we have organised 425 days of work experience for students from schools, colleges, universities and those seeking employment via Job Centre sites within the vicinity of our construction sites.
Work experience placements can be booked in blocks of five or 20 days. If you are interested in work experience, please view our current work experience vacancies online or contact your local Added Value Coordinator.
Site visits are a great opportunity for individuals to gain an insight into the construction industry by viewing real-life examples on site. Here at Esh Group, we work in partnership with our clients to advertise site visit opportunities to residents, community groups and students from local schools, colleges and universities.
Together with our site teams, we ensure site visits are safe, interactive and insightful. Visitors are encouraged to ask questions about the site, as well as the jobs and roles within the construction industry to ensure they maximise their opportunity to be on a building site.
All visitors complete a health and safety induction and are given a ‘toolbox talk’ which includes an overview of the project, key operations happening on the day and, most importantly, a health and safety briefing. Personal protective equipment is checked before visitors leave the site cabin.
Whilst on site, visitors are given an overview of the project by the site manager and a tour of the site via a pre-designated walkway, with opportunities to stop and view key operations and points of interest.
Within the last 12 months, we have coordinated site visits for over 800 people.
Esh Communities is Esh Group’s community funding programme, which accepts grant applications from any community group charitable organisation or social enterprise which can demonstrate the aptitude and ability to make a real difference to their service users.
To ensure we deliver social value in the areas in which we operate, our clients act as ‘gatekeepers’ and are issued with a unique code to promote to their local areas, communities and networks. Applications are made directly to Esh Group via our website using the unique code provided, with successful applications shortlisted together with our clients.
We accept applications all-year-round, with applicants completing a simple 450-word online application for a grant of between £50 and £1000. If successful, the funding is issued by cheque when a member of Esh Group staff visits later in the year.
Throughout 2017, Esh Communities supported 49 projects across our operational areas, granting over £43,000 to good causes to improve the lives of thousands of people.
Esh Communities is OPEN for applications from parties with a unique application code — enter your code below to access the application form.
We’re keen to support local communities by organising opportunities for our workforce to take part in volunteering activities. Volunteering helps our employees develop confidence and new skill sets, it improves morale and, most importantly an opportunity to get out from behind the desk and get stuck in!
We actively encourage all of our staff to help others, be it through fundraising, sharing skill sets and expertise or providing their valuable time.
In January 2017 we will launch a new system which will promote opportunities via Esh Group’s intranet and capture the range of volunteering undertaken by Esh Group employees, from this we hope to calculate a Social Value return on our collective investment.
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