Without doubt any organisation will acknowledge that its greatest asset is its employees and we are no exception.

On the back of receiving accreditation by Investors in People, in 2006 we achieved a placing in the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to work for in the Smaller Companies category. We are working to implement positive changes in the areas where a need for improvement was indicated by the staff that completed the best companies survey.

Our Management Trainee and CareerStart training programmes continue their success. This year saw a substantial new intake for CareerStart in advance of what will be an even busier year ahead with the range and scale of our forthcoming developments.

Via our training schemes we aim to promote the variety of Construction Industry careers available to school leavers with a hope that construction will in future appear within the top 10 careers choices of young people to minimise the shortage of skills in the industry

The investment in training is not confined to new employees but extends right across all areas of the Company and we have combined with Helmsman Training to ensure the training needs identified within our appraisal system take place at the earliest possible opportunity. This partnership also seeks to ensure that all training and development is focused on personal, team and Company objectives and as with our Investor in People status, focuses on achieving business goals through employee training and development.

We aim to provide our workforce, in recognition of their contribution to our success, with benefits that are competitive in the market place and match their contribution. In the Employee Benefits Awards 2006 the Company’s Healthcare Strategy was judged as being Highly Commended.