Local Employment Initiatives
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Ogilvie can demonstrate extensive experience in working with local communities and community centres to provide community and local benefits. We understand that our impact stretches further than the works we undertake on site and that we can have a positive impact on the surrounding community. Therefore we look to recruit a local labour force, utilise local suppliers and establish strong relationships with the third sector in the area.
Working with communities to generate employment and training opportunities for school leavers and long term unemployed
Ogilvie, in conjunction with Stirling Council and Stirling Community Centres, got involved in their current initiative to bring the unemployed back into the workforce through the 'Job Link'. This initiative in conjunction with Stirling Jobcentre Plus and Triage has been useful in sourcing employees in a variety of positions. Our most successful example is of a young man who had a very unfortunate history, had been out of the job market for several years and was desperate to make something of himself.
During a presentation and a 'getting to know you' process we identified this person, along with others, who demonstrated how keen they were to move into work and out of unemployment. We eventually employed this person as an Adult Joinery Apprentice. He completed two years of intensive college training, gaining his SVQ Level 2 and 3 along the way. Once his apprenticeship was complete he studies for an HNC which he gained over a three year period. He is now a fully qualified Carpenter & Joiner.
Ogilvie also acknowledges and accepts responsibility in achieving social progression. Modern employment practices are one tool deployed by the company to fulfil this objective. For example, Ogilvie has partnered in NCH Scotland's Youthbuild Project which positively addresses the problem of youth unemployment. This initiative, aims to "secure real jobs for difficult to reach young people" and involves candidates selected by the charity being exposed to a twelve week intensive training plan before being placed on local sites to gain experience in the construction industry. Ogilvie has already provided several placements for these disadvantaged youngsters and remains resolute in the pledge to afford employment opportunities for these traditionally more challenging candidates.
Another programme which promotes social inclusion concerns the 'Get Ready for Work' course. Ogilvie is currently in partnership with Forth Valley College to facilitate course delivery through the provision of industrial placements. Mirroring the values of the NCH Youthbuild Model this innovative scheme is aimed at "young people who are unemployed and seeking skills which will assist them in entering employment, education or training".
Our success at school Job Fairs has given us some of the best apprentices we have recruited in past years and we are proud of the success rate they have achieved. Some of those apprentices are due to complete their training this year and we are confident that we have produced the best tradesperson possible.
Our Group H R Manager – Ian Main - maintains good links with schools and further educational establishments across areas where we work. He also liaises with careers officers and local schools, mentors school pupils and encourages school, college and university leavers to continue with their education and progress in the Company. One example of this is a school leaver who joined the Company as a Trainee Planner. After several years he had gained an HNC and an Honours Degree in Construction and now heads the planning department in Ogilvie.
Other examples are of our Graduate Training Programme. We have several people who joined this scheme on leaving university with their degrees, studied for CIOB membership and are now working and living in Australia doing very well on the grounding that university and our Company provided. It is a measure of the Company and the programme's success that we still receive communication on a regular basis from them.
Stirling Schools PPP
Community Schools Challenge (1 day exercise)
Ogilvie decided that the pupils of the schools that were being re-built or modernised should benefit from the Company's involvement.
In early 2007 a schools exercise was developed and organised for all participating schools and was run twice over two years of the build programme.
In essence, the S3/4 pupils were invited to form teams of four and design a small housing site with the best house type mix to optimise sales, ensure mixed amenity or alternatively to get the most economic land value.
The exercise was held in the large training area in Ogilvie House and part of the exercise involved the pupils visiting various departments e.g. Planning, Surveying and Contracts to ask advice and prepare an outline plan.
Teams were given the full support of various consultants in Head Office who were on the other end of the phone or an email click away. Each team was presented with a dedicated laptop with access to the internet and the Ogilvie email system.
The aim of the challenge was to provide the pupils with an understanding of the construction process, the many different careers that the industry has to offer and the wide range of skills required to operate in such a multidisciplinary dynamic industry. At the end of the day the winning team was announced and each pupil received a certificate which could be included in his or her progress file.
The exercise included teamwork, thought process, listening to briefings, basic costing, working to deadlines, planning outline layout design etc.
The scheme was a great success and the teachers were heavily supportive. The schools training exercise was improved for the second time the next year.
The Ogilvie team were impressed by the team work, energy, enthusiasm and organizational skills of all the pupils who took part over the two years that the challenge has run to date.
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Whitfield Partnership
In 2005/6 the Company successfully won a project in Dundee to build sixty houses for our client Homes in Scotland.
In conjunction with Whitfield, the Company looked to recruit twelve GBO's for the project. Candidates were recruited for labouring positions with Ogilvie and its subcontractors. The GBOs worked towards a Level 2 SVQ and several achieved this through on site assessment.
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Falkirk
Ogilvie became involved with Falkirk Council to build three High Schools through the schools PPP (three major high schools were built in 2007 to 2010).
Ogilvie worked with the council to identify suitable candidates at careers fairs and during the duration of the project this help tremendously. Over 300 school leavers attended the fairs. We recruited apprentices to follow the industry SVQ Level 3 Skills Programme which ensured they achieved their learning development target. The local further education college provided off the job technical training and educational support.
All of the apprentices remain with the Company to this day and this successful venture features as a Case Study by the Scottish Government on successfully delivering Community Benefits in Public Procurement.
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Case Studies
Warren, Joiner
Warren attended the Falkirk Schools PPP Careers Fair and made himself known to our staff at the stand. He was sixteen years old, leaving school and determined to get an apprenticeship.
He was identified through a subsequent selection testing and interview and had the potential and was recruited into the Company's Joinery Programme in 1997.
Warren completes his apprenticeship this summer (2011) and has successfully completed his SVQ Level 3 and Advanced Craft studies. A model trainee.
Barbara, aged 24
Barbara commenced her employment with the Company in 2006 as an admin trainee in Ogilvie's Head Office. This was her first full time job. She quickly learned and achieved her HNC in Administration, attending Forth Valley College night school.
Her competency and skills developed and she was promoted within the Admin Department on various projects and later on introduced to the more technical aspect of estimating.
In February of this year she was promoted to Estimating Technician to provide support to the Construction Estimators.
James, aged 34
James was recruited through the local Careers Office as a Trainee Planner. He had left school with Standard Grades and Highers at seventeen.
The Company, through its commitment to the development of all employees, encouraged James in his part time College study to achieve his HNC in Construction on a day release basis.
James relished the opportunity and continued over an eight year spell of part time study to achieve his BSC Honours in Construction from Napier University in 2007 with good pass marks in each year of study.
James remains with the Company and now is Senior Planner heading up the Planning Team.
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Current Recruitment - Surveyors
The Company recently required the recruitment of two young Trainee Quantity Surveyors, Louise and David, from the local job market.
Candidates were recruited from speculative applications and part of the employment agreement was that they would be rewarded with the opportunity to attend Glasgow Caledonian University on a part time basis to study for a degree in Quantity Surveying.
They are very committed members of the Quantity Surveying team.
"Recyke-a-Bike"
One important aspect of Ogilvie's Social Enterprise support strategy is geared to how we make best temporary use of our assets while they are non-operational. An example of this approach and collaboratively working with a Social Enterprise is with "Recyke-a-Bike" in Stirling.
Recyke-a-bike is a cycle re-use project set up by Fallin Community Enterprises, a non-profit organisation and a charity. The project aims to recycle bikes that are no longer needed or thrown away & encourage the use of bikes as a resource for the community of Fallin and beyond. Recyke-a-bike also sells reconditioned bikes and carry out repair bikes.
Ogilvie owns a large warehouse in Stirling that was acquired for redevelopment purposes. However, it was not anticipated that redevelopment would take place within some 5 years. Under normal circumstances a developer would typically demolish a vacant building to avoid the rates liability. However, in this case, Ogilvie worked with Recyke-a Bike to form a short lease initially on a rent free basis that allowed them to improve the building, establish their business and training programme. This initiative has now been in operation for some 2 years and through the joint effort and strong collaborative working the Recyke-a-Bike is experiencing significant success working with a range of groups on training programmes for unemployed school leavers and generally creating a number of jobs in the local market.
Over the course of the lease Ogilvie has subsidised the rent by some £200,000 which has allowed Recyke-a-Bike to employ at least an additional two people along with a range of training initiatives. These efforts have been recognised by a Social Enterprise award from Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum (SURF). Ogilvie is now exploring with the Social Enterprise to extend their agreement with additional investment in training and a collaborative apprenticeship scheme.
We are also assisting the Social Enterprise in business planning arrangements and generally working in close co-operation with their stakeholders. On other occasions we have assisted organisations in developing their own strategy for the temporary use of land for cultivation. While some organisations may not all be Social Enterprises it demonstrates our willingness to engage with community stakeholders and local businesses to explore ways of utilising land and property that, for whatever reason, is temporarily not being used. The benefits from this exercise is not only providing purpose to the property but also making it productive for local benefit.
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