GLASGOW-based building contractor, Fourply, is ‘buzzing’ with excitement following its success at a recent national industry award ceremony.
The firm’s ‘The Apprentice & the Bee’ programme lifted the Training Initiative title at the Construction Awards of Excellence 2024, held in Nottingham.
Fourply used the bee’s focus on hard work and teamwork to create a unique educational journey with their apprentices – tasking them with building bee hotels, which showcased their evolving technical skills.
The Apprentice & the Bee initiative also linked the challenge of a growing skills shortage in the construction industry with the bee’s struggle due to habitat loss, climate change, and other environmental pressures.
The hand-built wooden structures are designed to attract the next generation of solitary bees and serve as a reminder for Fourply workers that success depends on each individual, and by supporting one another they strengthen the community as a whole.
Organised by the National Federation of Builders and the Scottish Building Federation (SBF), the Construction Awards of Excellence are open to all construction and building companies within the UK.
SBF operations director, Paul Mitchell, said, “With The Apprentice & the Bee, Fourplyhas created a truly engaging programme that recognises the challenge of the growing skills shortage in the industry. It is a positive initiative delivered in a practical and meaningful way that showcases skills while getting an important message across. They were up against some stiff competition covering a full range of training initiatives across the UK so this is a great achievement.
“Also flying the flag for Scotland was Thomas Johnstone Ltd, who were shortlisted as finalists for two separate UK-wide awards: Excellence in Educational Building and the Construction Project of the Year.”
Fourply MD, Alan Morris, added, “While the relationship between The Apprentice and the Bee is metaphorical, it highlights the importance of our inclusion, work ethic, standards and community contribution. Making the bee hotels has a tangible end result for the apprentices as they learn many carpentry techniques, which is a massive achievement for them.
“They also learn the environmental awareness a bee has on our biodiversity. Having the connection between the physical result of making a bee hotel and the environmental awareness ensured the project remains a positive training initiative which creates interest whilst being original.”
