Nuttall scoops major training award

Nuttall has beaten off some stiff competition within the civil engineering and construction industry to win the prestigious Quality in Construction Award in the training category.

The judges were impressed with the entry from Nuttall, which focused on the numerous company-wide training initiatives to improve the skill's base of all staff and operatives. Typical comments from the judges included 'They have excellent management systems for monitoring results. For me, that gave them the edge' and also 'I felt that if I worked for Nuttall, I would know what they were trying to do for me and what they expected of me'.

In an article from Construction News the Nuttall culture was described as 'nurturing' and that the company 'did not rest on its laurels and hope that people do what is expected of them'. The annual appraisal, which identifies key business tasks and allows for formal evaluation of training and development was praised as was the training 'personal log book', which records all training that is received by an individual.

The company training policy was also complemented upon, particularly the current focus on operative training using the award of NVQs [National Vocational Qualifications]. As stated by Graham Medcroft, Nuttall human resources director: 'We have set up an NVQ team comprising five full time assessors/verifiers and a further 80 assessors in the field. Our commitment to training extends to subcontractors too as we are offering financial incentives to the value of £1 million to encourage training among our suppliers.'

Graham Medcroft was presented with the Quality in Construction award trophy at a ceremony in London, which was attended by over 830 representatives from the industry.