Highlights across the project
Just some of the activities which have taken place during the life of the scheme...
We have eight apprentices working on the Acklam Road project; three of the eight being from the local area of Kensington and Chelsea.
We have created seven jobs, supported 19 educational events, invested 124 staff hours and engaged with 483 students.
Three operatives completed an NVQ Level 2.
We have employed six people from the borough to work on the project.
To date, we have provided five people with work experience: four placements from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
We had a third Year Out student join the Acklam Road project team in September 2023 whilst the previous two placements returned to university to complete their studies.
Our Acklam Road Apprentice Quantity Surveyor attended the International Green Skills Conference: Skills for a Changing World held at the Imperial College London. Cian Forsyth spoke to the Secretary of State for Education – Gillian Keegan about his route into an apprenticeship with Morgan Sindall and his journey to date.
We arranged for an apprentice bricklayer working on the Acklam Road project and living in Kensington and Chelsea to be interviewed by the Local Authority about his apprenticeship with Lee Marley Brickwork and working on the Morgan Sindall construction project in the borough.
We partnered up with Build Skill Plus to deliver a Sector-Based Training – Employability course to Kensington and Chelsea residents. Five dedicated residents completed their week-long course and obtained a CSCS card. The course was supported by us and our supply chain partners – Stanmore and Leay, and was delivered from Westbourne Studios.
We also attended the Employment & Training Fair hosted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We engaged with 15 people and promoted a second round of the Sector-Based Training Academy.
We had 16 students from the University of West London visit the Acklam Road project in two groups, to learn about the development. Our Project Manager, alongside Social Value Manager, Monica Paul, delivered a presentation that included routes into construction and opportunities with Morgan Sindall.
The Acklam Road team also visited the University of West London to speak to Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) students and Apprentices in Civil Engineering studying a Construction Management Module. Our project manager shared his knowledge and experience of construction management practices used on the Acklam Road project, with 12 students.
We attended the City of Westminster College to talk to students about the Morgan Sindall business, and Acklam Road development and shared the education and career journey of our Engineer Tewodros Genda. Students asked Tewodros lots of questions about the options he selected, what his job entails, challenges, and what he enjoys most about being an engineer.
We collaborated with Construction Youth Trust (CYT) to support their Building Future Skills programme. 13 students from Chelsea Academy, Kensington Aldridge Academy, and St Charles Catholic College took part in the three-day programme delivered by CYT to help students learn more about construction and the built environment.
Building Future Skills is aimed at those in Years 12 and 13 and offered to a diverse demographic of young people to introduce them to professional career opportunities in construction.
Monica Paul, Social Value Manager went along to the third day to support the delivery of mock interviews to students on the programme, asking a range of pre-prepared questions about a fictional construction vacancy.
We partnered with Bouygues to deliver a “Not Just for Boys” construction talk to students at St. Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. The session was organised by Construction Youth Trust and Monica Paul, Social Value Manager delivered a talk to five students about her career in construction, diversity within the construction industry, and opportunities for women in construction.
An Apprentice Quantity Surveyor supported CYT (Construction Youth Trust) event held at Kensington Aldridge Academy. 20 students took part in a World of Work programme and Cian Forsyth supported the Apprentice Masterclass activity, where he talked about his apprenticeship, pros, cons and application process.
The Morgan Sindall Construction Acklam Road team hosted a site tour for Morley College, Chelsea campus students. Seven students visited our staff at Westbourne Studios to learn about the Acklam Road development and to be given a guided site tour.
They also delivered an online Careers Talk after 44 students, studying various courses, expressed an interest in learning more about construction. After the presentation, students asked questions about careers including apprenticeships with Morgan Sindall.
Our Year Out Site Management student engaged with year 11 students talking about the various roles in construction, subjects to consider, about Morgan Sindall Construction and the Acklam Road project.
Our Apprentice Quantity Surveyor and Year Out Site Management Student attended a Maths Measuring in 3D activity at Kensington Aldridge Academy on 21st October. The Acklam Road site team engaged with year 7 students.
We supported a Speed Networking Session organised by Construction Youth Trust at The Fulham Boys School and engaged with over 50 students from year 9. We spoke about the Morgan Sindall business and answered questions the students had prepared in advance. Students came in groups of three and had 5 minutes with each employer.
Acklam Road team supported an event organised by Construction Youth Trust at Fulham Cross Academy Sixth Form. Cian Forsyth, Apprentice Quantity Surveyor and Jonathan Asiegbunam, Year Out Site Manager engaged with 18 students from year 12 about a university versus apprenticeship session. Cian and Jonathan shared their respective journeys into construction, including what they do on a day-to-day basis, pros and cons of university versus apprenticeship and the various types of jobs in construction. The students were spilt into five groups and Cian and Jonathan spent five minutes talking to each group and answering questions. The session concluded with some key facts about the university and apprenticeship route, including financial, lifestyle and workload differences they need to consider.
Cian Forsyth, Apprentice Quantity Surveyor delivered a talk to eight students at Ormiston Latimer Academy, an alternative provision that provides education to vulnerable and challenging young people, located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The event was organised by CYT (Construction Youth Trust) and Cian spoke to students about routes into apprenticeships, the process with Morgan Sindall, working hours and how he manages work and coursework being an Apprentice. Students had lots of questions for Cian and are considering joining the construction industry because of the visit.
We provided storage space to The Children’s Book Project, a local charity that supports lots of disadvantaged children in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This charity is fully run by volunteers and was struggling to find storage space for their books. We offered our office space free of charge until February 2024.
We were approached by Al Manaar Muslim Culture & Heritage Centre asking for support to repair a leak in their nursery ceiling. We approached our drylining partner – Stanmore and Painting and Decorating subcontractor – Bridgegap who agreed to carry out the improvement works over the month of August while the nursery was closed for the summer.
We supported The Big Cook-Off event which took place in North Kensington in 2022.
First launching in 2018 in North Kensington by a local PC, the idea was to get local residents and service providers cooking together for the community and to compete against each other whilst raising funds for local people wishing to pursue a career or interest in catering. More than 500 people were in attendance and events are judged by 3-star and 5-star Michelin Chefs.
We partnered with our brickwork subcontractor, Lee Marley, to support a community clean-up at Swinbrook estate. Both Morgan Sindall and Lee Marley staff spent the entire day cleaning and removing rubbish as a way of giving back to the local community.
We joined forces with our Supply Chain partners to clean up a garden area at Al Manaar Cultural Heritage Centre. Three staff members spent 30 hours cleaning and planting. We also installed bird nesting boxes.
The team, along with one of our supply chain partners – Stanmore - purchased two pergolas in June. The pergolas were installed in Al-Manaar’s Community Garden and are being used to grow cooking herbs using hanging baskets.
We completed a Mural Artwork for the hoarding on Acklam Road. The Mural Artwork was designed via a collaboration with key creative players including a local school, a local artist, and our supply chain partners.
The Mural Arts project demonstrates our commitment to building strong relationships with the community, valuing their contributions, and emphasising the importance of arts and culture in the area.
We approached Howdens Kitchen to support this collaboration by donating a kitchen unit, which they kindly agreed to. Once the new Kitchen Unit was delivered our supply chain partner – Regal Construction Ltd fitted the new kitchen.
