BAM UK & Ireland was awarded this year's Workplace Wellbeing Initiative Award at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Southern Annual Lunch & Awards ceremony in London.

The award recognises the company's Suicide Awareness & Prevention project, which aims to tackle this sensitive subject and help prevent such incidences happening. It is a crucial issue in construction, where suicide rates are three times higher than the national average.

It was in 2022 that BAM added bespoke suicide awareness and prevention skills training to its health and wellbeing training portfolio. The company introduced one day and half day training courses, which encouraged a cultural change in the workforce that it is OK not to be OK.

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BAM has established a robust network of wellbeing champions trained in Mental Health First Aid. Additionally, the company has invested in dedicated spaces to provide support for individuals in need, whether for themselves, a loved one or a friend.

Ruth Pott, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at BAM, led the Suicide Awareness initiative, she commented: "People naturally shy away from discussions relating to suicide and mental health, but I am passionate about normalising such conversations and equipping our employees to have the conversation with anyone they are concerned about.

"We tackle very sensitive subjects such as suicide head on and know that we have saved many lives in doing so. We don’t put a business benefit or ROI on this, as it is fundamentally the right thing to do."

Alan Cox, CECA Southern Chair, stated: "It is sad fact that we work in an industry with a high suicide rate, but BAM UK and Ireland has grasped this as an issue, created a programme to support its people and the wider community, and demonstrated that the company cares genuinely about the wellbeing of its employees and those in its supply chain – the award is well-deserved!"