CCG Group – Award-winning partners delivering quality construction training

CCG Group

The CCG Group is one of the country’s largest privately-owned construction and manufacturing companies, founded in 1947 with a vision to “build a more sustainable and progressive future for Scotland”. The company’s ongoing success is grounded in a programme of stringent quality control and continuous improvement in both their products and people.

CCG’s project portfolio extends across the country; with a primary focus in mixed-tenure housing delivery, the company has developed key partnerships with some of Scotland’s leading RSLs (registered social landlords) and largest local authorities with a current programme of delivery spanning 12 local authorities and the creation of 1,500 homes per year. The firm is also a leading developer of modern, high-quality accommodation for the elderly as well as nurseries and primary schools.

CCG’s drive for quality, reduced waste and improved sustainability credentials has seen them pioneer building standards in Scotland and is the figurehead of the housebuilding sector’s drive to becoming ‘net zero’.

Growing their own construction leaders

Actively investing in staff professional development – effectively ‘growing their own leaders’ – means that the CCG Group now rarely recruits construction site managers from outwith the business, preferring instead to commission rigorous vocational training geared towards equipping suitably-qualified employees to undertake managerial roles.

Leading the charge to actively nurture staff potential while promoting career development and enhancing employee engagement is Lynn Stodart, Group HR Manager, ably supported by HR Assistant Tricia Flaherty. Lynn along with the CCG Community Benefit Team, also oversees the CCG Group’s community benefit initiatives that deliver key support for communities in which the business operates which includes the creation of jobs, support for schools and investment. In 2021, CCG donated over £170,000, and have included annual donations to, area foodbanks in excess of £170,000 to community-based projects.

Since 2017, over a dozen separate groups of CCG Construction Trainee Assistant Site Managers have worked with Esteem Training’s assessor and candidate support teams to secure their SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification) Level 3 in Construction Site Supervision (CSS).

Mutually-beneficial partnership

Lynn Stodart shares a little insight into the background which led to the mutually-beneficial partnership with Esteem Training:

“Our Trainee Assistant Site Managers come from a variety of different backgrounds. Many have extensive expertise in the trades including joinery, bricklaying, painting and decorating or plumbing, while others have come through the college or university route. We have therefore developed mandatory practically-oriented training programmes to establish a consistent in-house benchmark for career progression towards becoming a full site manager. Each candidate will therefore have passed mandatory training courses – in first aid and scaffolding inspection and SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme) – before registering with Esteem Training for the CSS programme.”

Allan Mitchell, Esteem Training’s senior assessor and internal verifier has worked with dozens of CCG candidates and commented: “The candidates who come to us from CCG are universally strong contenders – so focused and absolutely determined to do a good job. They arrive well-versed in CCG’s robust company processes, including why it’s key that stringent health and safety protocols are enforced on site.  They clearly run a tight ship and so we never have issues about meeting deadlines – that level of self-discipline seems to be ingrained, possibly even a company trait.”

Sustainable construction and Net Zero targets

Karen MacArthur, Allan’s candidate support coordinator colleague agrees: “CCG’s candidates arrive with a high level of understanding of company procedures, the construction industry and its business environment. They’re notably advanced in issues affecting sustainability, including the Scottish Government’s Net Zero targets. Many also have practical experience of sustainability in construction operations, such as incorporating prefabricated windows and doors into residential social housing projects using modules produced to order at the company’s bespoke off-site manufacturing facilities.”

Dynamic partners, committed to quality

Tricia Flaherty, CCG Group’s HR Assistant continued: “We’re a small team with a wide-ranging remit, so it’s hugely helpful that Esteem Training operate as dynamic partners with the same commitment to quality, who keep evolving their approach to ensure maximum benefit for their clients and that includes actively investing in close supportive personal relationships.

“They lift off the bulk of the administrative support which we have had to shoulder when working with other training companies in the past. They’re also closely attuned to how we work and understand that we, the HR team, need to be able to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) to the company of our significant investment in ongoing staff training. Working with Esteem Training fortunately ticks all the ROI boxes since our employees will rapidly progress to become site managers following successful completion of their studies with the Esteem team, and we gain immense satisfaction from seeing our colleagues flourish within their new senior roles.”

Andy Findlater, Esteem Training’s business development manager added: “When Scotland’s national COVID response resulted in the shutting down of construction sites from March to late summer 2020, we pivoted to providing exclusively online courses. That required us to provide additional learning support to some candidates whose IT skills were a little on the rusty side, however that didn’t apply to any of CCG’s candidates who are all extremely IT savvy.”

Recognised construction industry qualifications

Lynn Stodart concludes: “It’s important for achieving both our HR vision and the CCG Group’s mission that our employees gain recognised industry qualifications and so we chose to partner with Esteem Training for a number of reasons. Partly due to their consummate professionalism and partly because I was determined to identify a meaningful and practically-oriented qualification which we could offer to large numbers of suitable candidates.

“We have many talented staff who possess valuable practical expertise and technical knowledge yet few formal qualifications. Feedback following their collective experiences working with Esteem Training is consistently positive. All report back not only that they gained useful knowledge and enjoyed the peer group knowledge exchanges but also that they feel more confident in their role, and that’s precisely what we aim for. That Esteem Training’s courses are funded through Skills Development Scotland is also hugely helpful since it allows us to offer a recognised advanced industry qualification to many more employees than would otherwise be possible.”

Andy Findlater – 07766 658083 – will be happy to discuss any training you may need for yourself or your team – email him at andy@esteemtraining.com

You can also visit our website to find out more about the training and support that we offer.