Reaching Excellence with Engie

On Friday 12th July Debbie Casey our Customer Experience Manager and Helen Byfield our Trainee Surveyor attended The Employer Excellence Awards 2019 at West Herts College. The ceremony saw Watford Community Housing and Engie, our improvement programme contractor, pick up an award for the incredible work experience and training courses provided to students of West Herts, in line with their ‘Skillmakers’ initiative.

Skillmakers is designed to provide local businesses with a pipeline of fresh new talent whilst offering students meaningful workplace opportunities which include placements, supported internships and apprenticeships that have seen the team gain some incredible talent. Over the past two years Engie, in partnership with Watford Community Housing and West Herts College, have provided free pre-employment training to residents and students alike to improve economic stability in the local area.

In the past year alone there have been two six-week placements for six students in total, where they could get some hands-on experience in the construction industry. Each student’s bespoke plan paired them closely with site managers and resident liaison officers, meaning they got experience both on site and elsewhere – giving them important insight into how the wider teams working on the project ensure that local residents benefit from the schemes.

The awards were presented by Ed Richardson, who leads on apprenticeships and technical education at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and saw the Watford Community Housing team collect the award alongside some other incredible employers around the area.