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Jones Bros scoops prestigious award for careers progress25th Jun 2019
A leading civil engineering firm is celebrating after scooping a prestigious industry award recognising its commitment to career progression as well as being highly commended in the sustainability category.
Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK came out top in the people development category at the Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) Awards, which celebrates success in the Welsh construction sector.
The accolade, sponsored by the Construction Industry Training Board for Wales (CITB Wales) and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association for Wales (CECA Wales), highlighted the Ruthin-based firm’s practical approach to developing its employees.
The company’s award-winning apprenticeship scheme has produced more than 40 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices.
And Jones Bros also earned a high commendation in the sustainability category for its work on the final phase of the Llangefni Link Road on Anglesey.
The team identified a requirement to remove 7,000m3 of unsuitable material offsite, and proposed an innovative stabilisation method to re-use the material within the highway build.
The technique allowed the scheme to avoid the need for haulage to and from landfill, and additional months of traffic management in Llangefni.
Richard Owen, training and workforce manager at Jones Bros, said: “Winning this award further strengthens our reputation as a civil engineering firm that cares about its employees and their development.
“The industry is rapidly changing, and in order to be successful, a well-trained, professional, and motivated team across all areas of the business is vital.
“We actively promote training opportunities for our workforce, and our apprenticeship scheme is continuing to help people kick start their careers on major projects including the Caernarfon and Bontnewydd bypass.”
Speaking about the sustainability award success, contracts director Hefin Lloyd-Davies added: “We always aim to be as sustainable as possible on our schemes, and the final phase of the Llangefni Link Road was no different.
“Treating and using the surplus soil saved more than 3,000 traffic movements to and from the site, and we look forward to using this method on future projects to help reduce our carbon footprint.
“We also worked with local suppliers to source materials including stone, concrete, and tarmac, meaning more than 40 per cent of the project cost was spent directly on Anglesey, and more than 90 per cent of the scheme’s workforce live in the local area.”
Jones Bros was also shortlisted for best civils project for its Llangefni Link Road scheme.
The accolades saw Jones Bros continue a series of successes at the CEW Awards, as its joint venture with Balfour Beatty, the Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm Energy Project, was named CEW’s civil engineering project of the year in 2018 and went onto win the same prize in the UK-wide CE national awards.
Established in the 1950s, the civil engineering contractor is now being run by the second and third generations of the founding family, employs more than 350 people, and has recruited more than 100 apprentices during the past three years.
In addition to highways, it works on the construction of waste management facilities, renewable energy, and flood and marine defence projects around the UK.