Strive Development celebrate social value achievements with McLaren at West Midlands Ambulance Station
Strive Development enjoyed attending this event on 25 May, to celebrate social value achievements of over £229,000, representing 1.5% SROI. Strive Development managed the social value on this project, in conjunction with Dave Newman the McLaren Project Manager. It was great to see all the apprentices come back to site for the event.
Sandwell Council, Stoford and McLaren Construction have given an update on the community value delivered through construction of a new hub for the West Midlands Ambulance Service on Shidas Lane in Oldbury.
The 72,000 square foot, three-storey building funded by healthcare premises specialist Assura plc will be the largest of its kind in the UK. It replaces a smaller base in West Bromwich. It will accommodate around 350 operational ambulance staff working shifts and will include a facility for the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), as well as fleet maintenance and vehicle preparation areas, an education and training academy and central stores
In addition to the benefits of a significant increase in ambulance operational capability for the Black Country and Birmingham, the project has delivered on a range of community commitments made when the construction contract was awarded and supported Sandwell Council’s drive to generate more social value from businesses operating in their area.
On Wednesday 25th May various stakeholders gathered at West Midlands Ambulance Station to have a tour of the site and speak to apprentices that have been recruited as part of a social value commitment with Sandwell Council. The event was attended by Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council; Karen Richards, Think Sandwell Social Value Impact Officer; and Michael Wragg, Think Sandwell Area Employment Adviser, along with representatives from McLaren, McCoy Contractors, WysePower, Strive Development, Birmingham City University and apprentices recruited via Think Sandwell – Sandwell Council’s employment and skills team.
Since May 2021, when McLaren commenced on site, the site has:
- Recruited seven apprentices
- Recruited eleven local people
- Provided two internships to Construction Management students at Birmingham City University
- Engaged with Rounds Green Primary School to design and build two bug houses
- Given six site visits to school and university students
- Volunteered with Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust
- Undertaken a fundraising healthy eaten cook off with donations made to the Wildlife Trust.
When electrics company WysePower started on site, Amanda – McLaren’s Social Value Consultant – engaged with them to recruit one electrical apprentice and one plumbing apprentice. Recruitment adverts were drawn up and placed by Sandwell Council through its Think Sandwell Team.
There was a great response to the adverts, and Michael Wragg, Area Employment Adviser, pre-screened over 17 candidates, of which nine were interviewed.
Carl Marsh, WysePower’s Regional Manager, was impressed with how the candidates performed at interview, and offered five apprenticeships in electrical and plumbing. All five apprentices are progressing well with WysePower and are studying at Dudley College.
Think Sandwell also supported McCoy Contractors, the groundworks company, who recruited Cameron as a Groundworker apprentice in November. Cameron has been undertaking varied activities including building manholes, laying pipe runs and using various machinery. Cameron has predominantly worked on site at WMAS. He attends college on block release. When asked what he enjoys about his role, Cameron said:
“I have really settled into my role at McCoy Contractors and I really enjoy the physical side of the work. I have been allocated to a ‘gang’ on site and I have formed a great friendship with all of the lads that I work with – they trust me and therefore allow me to prepare the pipes or even help lay them, this means that I am always busy which I believe is key to enjoyment, especially during Apprenticeship Stage.”
In September, McLaren recruited Alex as a Trainee Site Manager. Alex is currently undertaking an HNC in Construction through day release at Solihull College.
Early on in the development, McLaren engaged with Birmingham City University and offered site visits and talks. Also offered six-week duration internships for Construction Management students. Two students – Reece and Abdul – undertook an internship on site. Both found the placement very beneficial. Abdul spent time shadowing different roles on site, including engineering, design, quantity surveying and site management. He commented that this opened his eyes to the different roles and maybe changed his career aspirations going forward.
A mixed group of first-year, second-year and Masters Construction Management students also visited site in early May 2022. They found it really beneficial and asked some great questions.
Throughout construction on site, McLaren have had a close relationship with Rounds Green Primary School which is just a few minutes’ walk from the site. Dave Newman, Project Manager, and Naomi Warr, Sustainability, gave talks to the whole school on sustainability and also launched the Bug House Design competition in October. This was followed through with class visits to site.
The competition was judged in December and the judges were blown away by the standard, so much so that two overall prizes were awarded in addition to each year group winner. The winners and their teams (two teams of five) came to the site to build the bug houses out of waste materials to encourage bio-diversity on site. All winners of the design competition received prizes from the Wildlife Trust which were donated by contractors McCoy and PJ Brickwork.
Cllr Carmichael said: “This amazing, new facility for West Midlands Ambulance Service demonstrates the power of social value. When organisations like WMAS, McLaren, WysePower and Sandwell Council – through Think Sandwell – work together we can achieve positive outcomes by providing exciting career opportunities for our apprentices, like Cameron and Alex.
“Our collaborative approach means this facility will benefit Sandwell residents and the wider community. And by establishing links with key contractors, education providers and the voluntary sector, our partnership will assist our apprentices in developing successful careers that enhance the physical, economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our communities.”
