Attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce and supporting social mobility are some of our core objectives when recruiting talent. As well as offering a graduate scheme, we have tailored programmes for apprentices and career changers to become chartered surveyors or project managers and a NextGen programme that champions future leaders of the industry.
This autumn G&T hosted a roundtable to discuss race and ethnicity in the built environment to explore the barriers and opportunities for improving on the industry statistics which suggest just 5.4% of construction workers are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Working with a cross-section of colleagues and industry professionals including Managing Partner, Adam Glover, and members of the firm’s ESG board, eight working groups discussed three key questions:
- What are the benefits of diverse teams and inclusive leadership?
- What are the key challenges to achieving racial equality in construction and property?
- What are the opportunities for improvement and recommended positive actions?
All participants on the night agreed that diverse and inclusive teams and businesses yield better outcomes and are likely to achieve greater financial success. It was also acknowledged that everyone benefits from diverse teams, not just those from ethnic or racially diverse backgrounds.
G&T’s ESG board is now considering all the outputs from the roundtable to understand how they can inform policies and practices in the future.
