Highly Commended’ for Social Value and Community Impact

Posted on 21 October 2026

We are delighted to have been highly commended in the Social Value & Community Impact category at the 2026 British Construction & Infrastructure Awards, recognising the growing impact of our Learning in Action programme on young people, schools and the wider construction industry.

Now in their 39th year, the British Construction & Infrastructure Awards are jointly hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and New Civil Engineer. With an independent panel of more than 100 expert judges across the awards, they recognise excellence in construction and infrastructure, including the positive difference the industry makes to society.

The award celebrates organisations and initiatives that go beyond project delivery to create meaningful, lasting benefits for the communities around them. For us, this means opening young people’s eyes to careers they may not previously have considered, while helping the construction sector build a stronger and more diverse future workforce.

Learning through real-world experience

Since launching Learning in Action in 2024, we have engaged more than 100 young people and delivered around 600 hours of meaningful workplace experience. We have worked with 18 industry partners across 22 live sites, giving participants first-hand insight into the range of roles, skills and opportunities available across construction.

Recognition of a growing impact

This latest recognition follows our success at the Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Awards. Together, these achievements reflect our growing contribution to social value, community engagement and the long-term strength of the industry.

Being highly commended is an important milestone for us and everyone involved in Learning in Action; from the young people and schools taking part, to the industry partners opening their sites and sharing their expertise. It is also a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when education and industry work together to create opportunities, raise aspirations and inspire the next generation.

What the judges said

“By targeting the underrepresentation of young women in construction, the programme delivers social value that is both locally relevant and strategically important for the future of the industry.”

“Few comparable initiatives demonstrate the same level of targeted engagement, industry collaboration and alignment between community need and workforce development, making this a strong model for others to learn from and replicate.”

“A purposeful and highly relevant response to one of the construction industry’s most persistent challenges.”