Aberdeen company named employer of the year at national engineering construction awards
Wood is celebrating after being named Large Employer of the Year at the 12th annual ECI Training and Development Awards in London.
The Aberdeen-headquartered company received the accolade at a prestigious ceremony to honour the very best of engineering construction talent.
The event, organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), brought together industry leaders, as well as the rising stars of tomorrow, for a celebration of excellence in training and development.
Held at One Marylebone, an iconic Grade I listed building in the heart of the capital, the event was hosted by Chair of the ECITB Innov8 Group Chinwe Odili, a STEM champion and award-winning structural engineer from Kent plc.
Wood, one of the world’s leading consulting and engineering companies operating across energy and materials markets, scooped the award for employers of more than 250 people.
Judges recognised the company for demonstrating “exceptional commitment to employee development, innovative training programmes and a supportive work environment”.
David McCleneghan, UK Head of Engineering, said: “It’s great recognition that we’re going in the right direction. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been through a lot of transformations in terms of the organisation and adapting to new markets.
“We’ve put a lot of investment into our next generation of engineers and managers to help fit into the vision that we have for the company.
“The focus has been on transitioning into new energy and trying to bring new talent in. It’s different to what we have done before, so we’ve had to restructure how we attract the right talent into the business and then take their passion and drive it through the rest of the organisation.
“There are a lot of opportunities coming up. It’s a really interesting time to be in the business and the industry and I’m excited for the team for being recognised with this award.”
Recognising success stories in engineering construction
The ceremony recognised standout individuals, companies and training providers as awards were presented to winners across nine categories at what is now an established highlight in the engineering construction industry’s (ECI) calendar.
The judging panel for the awards was made up of Mark Fotheringham from Infinity Engineering, Tracey Shelley from BCECA and John Webster from Applus UK, who picked the overall winners based on the significant contributions they have made both to the ECI and their own organisations.
The theme of the awards was change and, in opening the event, ECITB Chief Executive Andrew Hockey spoke of the new Government’s commitment to skills and how the industry is changing as it plays its part in realising the country’s net zero goals.
He said: “The ECITB, as the industry’s employer-led training board, stands at the heart of these changes to support the skills needs of the workforce.
“With our collective desire, endeavour and expertise, exemplified by the exceptional talent gathered at the awards, we can tackle the challenges ahead and seize the opportunities to ensure our industry is well-placed for the future.
“The standard of nominees this year was again incredibly high, showcasing the great things happening in training and development across the industry.
“I would like to thank our judges and congratulate all the winners and finalists who are great examples of excellence in our industry.”