NIL By Mouth and Scotland’s construction sector have forged what has proven to be a natural partnership, with the anti-sectarianism charity now operating at capacity on youth STEM initiatives and partnering with a range of firms across the industry.
The multi-award-winning charity was founded in 2000, five years after the sectarian murder of 15-year-old Mark Scott in Glasgow – who was targeted as he walked home from a football match.
Nil By Mouth has a long history of working with individuals, communities, schools, and learning institutes to target the core issues that contribute to sectarianism and bigotry.
In 2022, the organisation fully branched out into the construction sector after a series of small-scale collaborations, including one with Morgan Sindall that was so well received that the partnership remains in place today in a more expanded form.
Training has been delivered to staff at all levels, as well as apprentices and sub-contractors. Nil By Mouth is also involved in the Tier 1 contractor’s community engagement initiatives, with both sides having used the partnership to reinforce corporate social responsibility strategies.
In May, the partnership evolved into delivering dual STEM workshops to schools across Scotland – with several hundred pupils from 12 schools benefiting. A total of 2,000 pupils from 85 schools have taken part in Nil By Mouth’s wider STEM offering, which is delivered through a range of partners including Heriot-Watt University. The sessions combine the promotion of equality, vocational skills, and insight into careers in construction.
“It’s been a huge success for us,” Dave Scott, Nil By Mouth MD, told Project Scotland. “It shows how charities can work imaginatively with construction companies in the private sector to not just help children solve practical problems, but also human dilemmas.”
The STEM Together initiative brings pupils together from non-denominational and denominational schools to complete tasks – such as creating a go-kart – in mixed teams, with construction professionals on hand to support and inspire them.
“It’s interesting watching children who, maybe reading and writing isn’t their thing, but they clearly have a very technical mind,” Dave added. “In the feedback, we’re increasingly seeing things such as ‘I watched this child come alive’ or that ‘it wasn’t the kids we thought would take the lead’.
“There’s sometimes an invisible division between schools. They’re now coming together, staff get to know each other, and it might kick on to other collaborations – and that’s a huge win.”
The programme was born out of Morgan Sindall and Nil By Mouth watching each other’s sessions on their respective issues and realising a collaborative approach could tackle both.
“If we can plant that seed, then teachers can see who has an interest in construction and it can be something they can build on and support whilst they decide if it’s a route they want to go down in the future,” Emma Alexander, Nil By Mouth partnership manager, said. “It’s great for us to get girls thinking about careers in construction as an option as well.”
Keen to stress that sectarianism is a societal problem, rather than one confined to certain industries, Nil By Mouth praised Scotland’s construction sector for taking a front-footed approach to tackling it. The charity is seeing increasing interest in initiatives around workplace banter and mental wellbeing.
“We try not to do it in a preachy way,” Dave explained. “It’s not done in a sense that ‘you must do this, you must do that’. It’s about establishing to people that they know how to use their tools and equipment on site to be safe at work – but if your mental health is at risk because of other people’s behaviour, then you’re in danger.”
The charity has funding from the Scottish Government to deliver the sessions free of charge to companies, with the backing extending to its Pause B4U Post social media initiative – which has also proved popular amongst construction firms.
“We’ve had employers who have had to let a staff member go because of something they’ve posted online,” Emma added. “(They’ve asked) us to come in and work with their staff. It’s been particularly popular with modern apprentices – they’re of the age where they’ll likely all have social media – and it’s had amazing feedback from employers.”
“There’s a shocking level of naivety out there,” Dave added, before rhyming off recent high-profile incidents where careers have been ruined in an instant due to behaviour at football games. “It’s so easy to find people’s employers now and they then see them (the employee) as a liability. So, it’s not just a HR issue; it’s also a PR issue – if you misbehave at football matches and people film you, there’s going to be consequences.”
The collaboration between Nil By Mouth and Scotland’s construction sector is expected to grow further. The increase in shared school campuses naturally lends itself to the STEM Together programme, as does the well-documented need for more skilled construction professionals. Helping youngsters develop a clear pathway to a bright future is a proven way of directing them away from harmful behaviours.
• If you’d like to work with Nil By Mouth contact engagement@nilbymouth.org (workplaces) or education@nilbymouth.org (schools and learning institutes).
