Written By:
Karen Jones
HR Director
Redrow
We’ve been building a reputation for beautiful high quality homes across Wales and England for over 40 years. Key to our success are the many talented people working in every department across the business who are committed to excellence. We encourage them all to grow and maximise their potential by working with like-minded people who share their vision and values.
With 2162 employees, 391 of which are based in Wales, we’re focussed on recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce to ensure we have the supply of skills that our business needs for the future. This starts with our apprentices; housebuilding is an exciting industry and we offer some great opportunities for young people to start gaining the skills needed to kick-start their careers.
Having launched the UK’s first dedicated housebuilding degree in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Coleg Cambria, our three-year degree gives candidates a full overview of housebuilding skills, including housebuilding quality, project management, health and safety, business skills, negotiation, right through to relevant aspects of law, mathematics and economics. It takes time to learn the quality and skills necessary to be the best but this is a fantastic course that is proving very popular with those wanting to develop a career in housebuilding.
We know that training and development are fundamental to the growth of our business. That’s why we focus on giving individuals the skills and opportunities they need to realise their potential and fulfil their aspirations. The evidence speaks for itself – 257 internal promotions this year and with 15% of our employees currently on structured training programmes this trend is set to continue.
We also believe strongly in supporting the physical, emotional and financial wellbeing of our people and it’s something we take very seriously. The health and wellbeing of our employees and sub-contractors is embedded at the heart of our culture and as part of this, we offer a wide range of wellbeing programmes, initiatives and education to support our colleagues both in work and in their personal lives. Our dedicated Wellbeing Champions engage our teams across the divisions and promote the fantastic support we offer, including MyLife our Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aiders.
Our culture is one of inclusivity for all. We actively value difference and ensure that everyone is treated fairly. We’re continuously promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) throughout the business. In fact, Redrow is also one of just eight UK construction companies to be named a Diversity Leader in the Financial Times’ inaugural list of European leaders for workplace diversity and inclusion.
We’re particularly keen to attract women in to the industry. As well as attracting female applicants to our apprenticeship and graduate programmes, we have a Women’s Network, currently operating online, where female colleagues can connect, ask questions, blog, share ideas and support each other. It also offers mentoring to support women with their career plans.
Valuing people is a key business principle at Redrow. I’m pleased to say that 98% of Wales-based colleagues have told us that they are proud to work for Redrow. I have no doubt that this is largely due to our commitment to investing in training and development to help our people fulfil their potential and ensuring we continue to be a great place to work.
Our people are at the heart of our ability to build thriving communities and to do so sustainably and responsibly. That’s why we’ll continue to invest in the next generation of housebuilders so that we’ve got the skills that we need for the future.
