AtkinsRéalis, a global engineering, design and project management company, has been leading a series of events across the UK aimed at inspiring and empowering the next generation of industry professionals to achieve social value outcomes in their work, as they become the industry leaders of tomorrow.
The events have been open to all next generation professionals across the built environment sector, to raise awareness of the long-lasting impact and legacy that social value outcomes can bring to areas impacted by development, and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Approximately 500 industry professionals have attended events held in Glasgow, Belfast, Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff and London, with the last in Bristol at The Station in November, organised by the AtkinsRéalis Next Gen team. The sessions have been themed around how industry can use social value as a tool for change and what that looks like in years to come.
AtkinsRéalis believes the built environment can do more to facilitate new ways of approaching social value and community engagement. As such the events were geared to give the industry’s next generation the opportunity to learn from social enterprise organisations, participate in interactive sessions to generate ideas whilst offering the chance to network with peers from across the built environment sector.
Hosted at accessible and inclusive venues across the country, as well as public funded venues such as the Prince’s Trust in Birmingham, varying formats have included workshops, panels, team activities and keynote speakers. The aim was to provide attendees with key learnings and practical tools and tips that they can apply to their daily practice, and teams worked closely with third sector organisations which were integral to the events.
Panel sessions have included representatives from the Prince’s Trust, Envision and Lord’s Taverners charities amongst others, while more local organisations such as Bristol’s Creative Youth Network, have played a key role in operating the venues, managing the space and providing hospitality.
James Butler, Managing Director of AtkinsRéalis Project & Programme Services (PPS) said: “As senior leaders today, we have a responsibility to inspire and motivate the next generation coming through. That is critically important in terms of understanding the impact on communities of development and large-scale infrastructure.
“What we’ve been able to do across this series of fantastic and engaging events, is embed the importance of achieving positive social value outcomes in everything we do, which has been really well received by the hundreds of professionals who have attended, from across the sector.”
Sarah Lambshead, social value lead for PPS at AtkinsRéalis said: “The social value movement has a clear aspiration – to change the way the world accounts for value. Its remit for achieving this is to create a movement of people and organisations who can see a better future and work together to achieve it.
“That is what these events around the country have really been about and why involving local external organisations to talk about their challenges and experiences has been an integral part of understanding how we can work together more effectively.”
Photo credit: AtkinsRéalis
