Offering skills for the next generation of housebuilders

Danica McLean

Group People Director, Vistry Group

The UK’s leading housebuilder¹ is opening up opportunities across the industry for people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Creating new talent to sustain the UK house-building sector is paramount as the Government endeavours to address a national housing shortage. Central to that — amid widespread skills shortages — is ensuring that entrants into the sector gain the skills and opportunities to carve out a successful career in the industry.

House-building skills shortages

Training initiatives, diversity and inclusion (D&I), family values and social responsibility are important elements, according to Danica McLean, Group People Director at Vistry Group, Britain’s biggest housebuilder, it is on track to build 18,000 homes and 1 in 6 of the UK’s new affordable homes this year.

Initiatives aimed at addressing skills shortages include the ‘Rise’ Programme for trainees and the ‘Pathways’ Graduate Programme to give the next generation of talent relevant experience and qualifications.

The company currently has circa 260 employees from all backgrounds on its rotational programmes, enrolled on to entry level qualifications or on upskilling qualifications across the business. Since 2017, it has launched 24 Skills Academies to upskill some 1,500 people through on-site practical and classroom training, with three more scheduled to launch this year.

Social value targets

In March 2023, the company signed up for The 5% Club charter, committing to help transform the fortunes of young talented people in the UK. It has won various accolades as a top employer and for mental health policies and talent attraction. It believes a skilled labour force is key to delivering growth in line with its targets as well as supporting the Government’s plans to address the country’s housing crisis.

Training initiatives, diversity and inclusion (D&I), family values and social responsibility are important elements.

A further aspect of this approach lies in working to generate £120,000 of Social Value against every £1 million it spends building. That includes creating skills academies as well as other initiatives, such as community allotments and wildflower gardens.

Inclusive industry and family-building

A significant part of the broader process is making the industry attractive and inclusive.

These include family-friendly policies, such as the changes it made to its family leave entitlements. Its enhanced maternity/adoption Leave offers up to 26 weeks of full pay for eligible personnel and paternity leave of up to four weeks of full pay for those eligible.

McLean explains: “Our people strategy aims to attract, develop and retain. By continually moving forward by listening to colleagues and benchmarking ourselves, we can attract the best talent and be a great place to develop a career.”

Vistry has also partnered with Fertility Matters at Work to support colleagues experiencing challenges with family building. McLean says: “We must encourage conversations around the challenges people are facing with family building and offer support where we can. We look forward to working with Fertility Matters at Work to do the right thing for colleagues affected by this and eventually become an accredited Fertility Friendly employer.”

National Inclusion Week

The company also has well-established internal D&I networks that include REACH (Race and Ethnicity), Pride (LGBTQ+) and Accessibility Allies. As part of National Inclusion Week’s #ImpactMatters, activities will be centred on inclusive behaviours and making a real impact on organisational culture. It will feature a number of speakers delivering sessions on psychological safety, the multigenerational workforce and the power of teamwork and inclusion.

Women’s network

With a strong Women’s Network, a Women in Leadership programme is offered, providing an external coach and access to an internal mentor. It is sponsored by one of its female managing directors, Gemma Hardy. There is also a series of ‘Develop-Her’ talks and workshops.

“We are keen to increase female representation in senior site roles, but also help and support other females with the highest potential, through ongoing development and investment, into senior leadership,” adds McLean. Women make up 15.8% of the UK construction workforce² but within Vistry, that figure is 33%.