Jewson has been celebrating a great start to the year, after picking up the award for Materials Supplier of the Year at the Construction News Specialist Awards.
CN Specialists Awards 2016
The diligence and knowledge of workforces is the cornerstone of the Jewson business, and the award recognises the work Jewson is doing to continuously support and develop its teams, as well as its continued commitment to improving the customer experience.
Jewson is creating a more diverse workforce by offering improved maternity conditions for employees and working with young people’s charity Street League to provide work placements. Through initiatives such as these, women now represent a third of Jewson’s operations management trainees, while three-quarters of all new graduates are female. The builders’ merchant wants to ensure that Jewson is an attractive career choice for all, at every level.
Jewson also invests heavily in training for employees, as well as providing courses for customers. As part of the Saint-Gobain group, it hosts training at the Greenworks Training Academy to drive knowledge of product developments and particularly sustainability in the industry, alongside taking training to customers through the Pro Build Tour.
In 2014, 2.6% of the Jewson workforce was in formal training or education and it is working to raise this to 5% in the next two years.
In 2015 Jewson opened a new dedicated Customer Experience Centre, where customer ratings on service levels and performance are monitored, analysed and fed back around the business.
David Fenton, Marketing Director at Jewson said, “It’s great to be recognised in these awards. The judges commended our business for achievements in training and diversity, which is something we are very focused on at Jewson. In particular, our work with the Street League charity has helped us to recruit some fantastic young people into the business, and give them the opportunity and training they need to get started in their career.”
Alex Rawson, Contractor Sector Director at Jewson, said, “Across the board our customers are tackling some difficult issues, such as ambitious sustainability targets as well as looking to recruit and train workers in the face of the continuing skills gap. Investing and developing our colleagues is key for us to be able to offer our customers the knowledge, support and efficiency they need.”
Find out more about the Construction News Specialist Awards and the other winners here.