Placing Social Value at the Fore of our Partnership with Westminster City Council

At Bouygues Energies & Services (Bouygues E&S), we are committed to positively impacting the communities in which we work. We pride ourselves on delivering meaningful Social Value to our clients, and since 2019, have worked in close partnership with Westminster City Council (WCC) to further their ambitions for the future of Social Value within the district.

Among these is their aim to ensure that all residents have the skills to benefit from the employment opportunities that come from a Fairer Economy through providing training and employability programmes (City for All, 2023). As a result, we’ve tailored our Social Value delivery plan to prioritise enhancing the employability skills of Westminster residents. This includes conducting mock interviews at the Westminster Adult Learning Services (WAES), sponsoring their Adult Learners’ Awards, delivering workshops at the Westminster Employment Services and attending the WCC Spring Job Fair.

In addition, we were particularly excited to share our insights of the vast opportunities across the built environment industry to WAES’ learners currently obtaining their CSCS cards (a necessary qualification to work on a construction site) through delivering employment and careers sessions.

The engagement and enthusiasm for these sessions among residents was fantastic to see. Employability sessions such as these can greatly improve an individual's opportunity to find employment, and respectively, greatly influence a person’s life. Along with the obvious financial remuneration, sustainable employment provides a feeling of pride, sense of structure in life, and social connections.

Brian Haley, Community Engagement Officer at Bouygues E&S, has been instrumental in creating opportunities for Bouygues E&S representatives to support Westminster residents. He shared his insights on what these efforts have meant to the local community:

“It’s been fantastic developing such close ties with the Westminster community over the past few years. I feel immensely proud of the support we’ve been able to offer longstanding Westminster institutions, such as the Abbey Centre, and look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the years to come. Making a positive difference in the communities in which we work is a cornerstone of the Bouygues E&S approach, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to do just that here at Westminster!”

As a business that values the contributions of those who are at the start of their careers and faced with a growing skills gap in the industry, we are also dedicated to developing and growing the next generation of talent to fulfil their career potentials. We strongly support WCC’ aim to reduce the percentage of young people not in education, employment, or training, and do what we can to realise this within the district. Testament to this is Bouygues E&S representatives who delivered our Girls Believe Academy presentation to 25, year 11 students, at St Augustine’s School. A Social Value initiative developed by our employee-led women’s network, WOMEN Together (Wellbeing, Opportunities, Mentoring, Empowering & Network), introduces students to the diverse and inclusive built environment, inspiring them to consider an industry they may otherwise feel discouraged from.  

Furthermore, we actively promote the value of training through apprenticeships to the community. Our recent attendance at WCC’s event promoting apprenticeships and employment to the ‘untapped potential’ of 16 and 18-year-olds allowed us not only to encourage young residents to explore the opportunities an apprenticeship offers, but also to offer mock interviews to develop their interview skills. Currently, we offer 6 apprenticeships to Westminster residents on our contract, alongside 5 yearly two-week work experiences designed for Westminster residents to experience working life at Bouygues E&S. Work experiences and apprenticeships are fantastic ways to develop, train, and introduce individuals of all ages to the job market – in fact 2 of our employees are Westminster residents who were hired through work experience programmes! 

Of course, Social Value stretches beyond employment prospects. We are conjointly committed to helping communities develop stronger connections. This has been demonstrated through developing a close relationship with the Abbey Centre as corporate partners, supporting their wonderful events, including Abbey Tea Parties and Christmas celebrations. These are a fantastic way to promote social inclusion for Westminster residents and we are delighted that so many of our employees choose to use their allocated volunteering days to help support the Abbey Centre.

Amelle Mestari, Procurement and Sustainable Development Director at Bouygues E&S, added: “Often considered merely a ‘nice-to-have’ by many organisations, Social Value is an essential and permanent element of how we do business at Bouygues E&S. We recognise our corporate and social responsibilities to our employees, clients, end-users, communities we work in and other stakeholders, and are dedicated to making a positive and long-lasting impact on the communities we serve through our Social Value activities. WCC is just one excellent example of how we tailor Social Value action plans to support and fulfil the priorities of our clients, and I’m delighted to see our team on-site strengthen and expand their relationships with key Westminster institutions, and of course, the Council itself.”

Ed Butler, Interim Head of Business Improvement, at WCC concluded: “Westminster City Council are proud to work with Bouygues E&S and their apprentices. Our Fairer Westminster agenda values inclusivity and thrives on supporting young people into new and exciting opportunities. Westminster Employment Service and our Facilities Management Service look forward to supporting more young people into the workplace."