Rt Hon Justine Greening, Former Secretary of State for Education and Chair of the Purpose Coalition
Nick Forbes CBE, Chair of the Breaking Down Barriers Commission and former member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet
1. Forewords
Nick Forbes CBE, Chair of the Breaking Down Barriers Commission and former member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet
Place has always shaped opportunity. As Leader of Newcastle City Council, I saw first-hand how the right infrastructure projects can unlock prosperity for communities that have too often been left behind.
When investment is targeted, collaborative and grounded in the realities of local places, it does far more than deliver new buildings. It strengthens civic pride, supports long-term economic resilience and creates pathways into good jobs.
Construction sits at the heart of this. The sector’s ability to transform neighbourhoods, support regeneration and create wider economic activity means it is uniquely positioned to drive real, lasting change. But that change happens only when organisations work together with a shared purpose. No single firm, local authority or government department can deliver inclusive growth alone. The most successful place-led projects are those built on strong partnerships and a clear understanding of what communities needed to thrive.
Collective action is therefore essential. The work of the Purpose Coalition, and this Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project, demonstrates what is possible when major construction firms align behind a common goal. By sharing insights, coordinating activity and learning from one another, they create far greater impact than any one organisation could achieve alone. This collaborative approach allows the industry to understand local challenges more deeply and design solutions that reflect the realities on the ground.
My experience within national policy reinforces how important these partnerships are. In my work with the current government on public finance reform,
the focus has been on how funding models can better support long-term, place-led infrastructure programmes. These programmes require stability, clarity and the flexibility for local leaders to shape investment in ways that make sense for their communities. When combined with strong industry collaboration, they can accelerate growth, improve public services and create opportunity where it is needed most.
My role as a non-executive director at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also supports this perspective. The most effective projects are those where public and private sectors function as genuine partners, aligned on outcomes and committed to leaving a positive legacy. Construction firms that understand their role as place leaders – not just contractors – are vital to this shift.
This report highlights that ethos. It shows an industry willing to look beyond short-term delivery and take responsibility for shaping better futures for people and places across the UK. That commitment to collective action is how we build not only infrastructure, but opportunity and confidence for the next generation.
Rt Hon Justine Greening, Former Secretary of State for Education and Chair of the Purpose Coalition
The construction industry has always been the foundation of Britain’s economy. It builds the homes we live in, the schools and hospitals we rely on and the transport networks that connect our communities. Yet its influence reaches far beyond the bricks and mortar of the physical environment. Construction has the unique potential to build opportunity too, shaping lives as well as landscapes.
At its best, this sector can drive social mobility. It offers routes into employment for people from all walks of life and creates apprenticeships and skilled careers that can transform futures. For many, construction provides that first crucial step on the ladder, offering meaningful work and a chance to develop the technical and leadership skills that underpin lifelong success. In doing so, the industry can open doors for individuals, families and whole communities that might otherwise remain closed.
However, realising this potential requires intention, collaboration and innovation. We are familiar with the challenges including persistent misconceptions about the industry, barriers to entry for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and an ongoing need to align training with the rapidly changing skills the modern economy demands. But the solutions are equally within reach when businesses commit to acting with purpose and sharing what works.
Through this Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project, the Purpose Coalition has brought together some of the UK’s leading firms to collaborate on how the sector can go further and faster in driving opportunity. These companies are showing what can be achieved when social mobility becomes a strategic priority rather than an optional extra. The insights and case studies featured in this report demonstrate how leadership on inclusion, education, skills and procurement can translate into tangible outcomes for people and places.
Across every sector, we are seeing that purposeful leadership is increasingly a hallmark of long-term success. In construction, that purpose is especially visible. When firms embed social value in their projects from the outset - whether through local hiring, sustainable design, community engagement or supply chain inclusion - they deliver not just buildings, but legacies.
This report highlights how purposeful collaboration can change both the perception and the reality of what construction offers. It shows an industry that is evolving into one that recognises its central role in tackling inequality, developing talent and creating resilient, thriving communities across the UK. Through a series of focused recommendations, it signals a strategic way forward for the sector to scale up the social impact it delivers.
The firms involved in this project are leading by example. By working together and sharing learning openly, they are building a model that others can follow – a model where economic growth and social mobility go hand in hand. The construction industry has the scale, reach and expertise to be one of the most powerful drivers of opportunity in Britain. With purpose at its core, it can also be one of the most transformative.
2. Executive Summary
The construction industry is a critical driver of both the UK’s economy and its social infrastructure. From enabling urban development and supporting housing needs to delivering the transport and energy projects that underpin national growth, the sector is central to shaping the country’s built environment and long-term prosperity.
Construction plays a pivotal role in delivering safe, sustainable and innovative projects. By combining technical expertise with practical problem-solving, professionals within the industry help to enable businesses, communities and public bodies to build the facilities and infrastructure required to meet the needs of today while anticipating the demands of tomorrow. This contribution is particularly vital during times of economic uncertainty, when investment in construction can stimulate growth, create jobs and restore confidence.
Trust and accountability are essential to the industry. From adhering to rigorous safety standards onsite to ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and planning requirements, construction companies help to instil public confidence in the projects that transform local communities.
Construction also makes a major contribution to society by building the homes, schools, hospitals and transport links that people rely on every day. Beyond delivering essential infrastructure, the sector increasingly leads on sustainability, adopting new technologies and practices that reduce carbon emissions and support the UK’s transition to a greener economy.
Entrepreneurship and innovation are central to the sector’s evolution. Small and medium-sized firms, alongside large established contractors, offer local expertise and insights along with new methods of working that improve efficiency and raise standards. By nurturing these innovations, the industry empowers new entrants and fosters a more resilient and adaptive workforce.
With over two million people employed across the UK, construction is one of the country’s largest employers, offering diverse career paths ranging from on-site apprenticeships to engineering and design roles. The sector provides opportunities for progression and skills development, helping individuals to build longterm, rewarding careers.
However, the industry faces a multitude of challenges in ensuring that social value is embedded throughout its activities and processes. When accessing opportunities within the sector, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds can encounter barriers to entry, such as the perpetuation of misconceptions that careers in construction are low-paid and prevent social mobility, financial constraints that hinder access to valuable extra-curricular, digital and employment experiences and a continued focus on higher education that often overlooks the many non-traditional pathways into the industry.
Work placements and apprenticeships are widespread, yet those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may find them harder to access, particularly if programmes require travel to sites far from home. Similarly, while more firms are adopting inclusive hiring practices, the construction sector remains largely maledominated, impeding progress toward greater workforce diversity.
Another pressing issue is in ensuring that training and professional development provision remains aligned with the constantly evolving needs of the industry. As new technologies and sustainability standards gain prominence, the sector must avoid a widening skills gap.
Beyond economic contribution, the construction industry must also ensure that projects leave a meaningful social and local economic impact and a lasting legacy for communities. Construction projects have the potential to transform places across the UK by identifying and responding to specific local needs and characteristics, driving long-term social value that extends far beyond the life of the build.
Collaboration with the supply chain, particularly with local businesses, is also fundamental in maximising social impact. SMEs often form the backbone of local economies, and by working closely with them, larger contractors can strengthen local skills bases, create jobs and embed community benefits into project delivery. Ensuring that procurement processes are accessible and inclusive for SMEs remains a fundamental question in building a more equitable and resilient industry.
As a fast-paced, project-driven sector with tight deadlines and significant external pressures, the construction industry must balance its commercial demands with the drive to improve inclusion and sustainability. Addressing these challenges is essential if the industry is to continue delivering the projects that are vital to the UK’s economic and social wellbeing.
The Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project, chaired by Rt Hon Justine Greening, works with a number of the UK’s top construction firms to identify innovative and transformational solutions to some of the barriers to opportunity and lasting social impact that are currently prevalent throughout the sector.
As a fast-paced, project-driven sector with tight deadlines and significant external pressures, the construction industry must balance its commercial demands with the drive to improve inclusion and sustainability.
3. Best Practice Roundtable Insights
The Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project brings together four of the UK’s leading construction firms; BAM UK & Ireland, Morgan Sindall Construction, Tilbury Douglas and TSL Projects.
Chaired by Rt Hon Justine Greening, the project aims to utilise the experience and expertise of the four participating firms to identify examples of best practice and develop strategies that will drive social mobility and opportunity within the construction sector more widely across the industry.
Through a series of roundtable sessions, the firms identified both examples of best practice and challenges across three key areas of focus for the industry- pathways into construction, strengthening construction’s role as a place leader and advancing mission-led approaches to procurement.
The outcomes of these roundtable discussions are presented in Section 3, which brings together the insights of participating firms on the barriers that continue to limit their ability to deliver lasting and widespread social impact. By highlighting these challenges, the Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project is able to shape targeted recommendations and strategies aimed at delivering meaningful change.
Alongside these challenges, the project recognises the significant progress already being made by firms to strengthen their social impact. Section 3 also showcases case studies highlighting examples of best practice within individual firms, demonstrating their commitment to driving positive change across the industry. While each case study highlights the work of one organisation, many of these initiatives are being adopted more widely across other participating firms, reflecting a collective momentum towards building a more inclusive and equitable construction sector.
3.1 Pathways
into Construction
Pathways into the construction sector are vital in ensuring that opportunities to build a career in the industry are open and accessible to all. The construction industry already has a strong track record in this area, with many major organisations working hard to inspire people to consider construction as a viable and rewarding career.
However, while much progress has been made, challenges persist. Lack of representation remains an issue across certain demographics and the entrenched focus on university as the default post16 destination for many young people continues to divert talent away from alternative routes.
To maintain a wide, diverse and skilled talent pool that can meet the evolving needs of the industry, construction must continue to develop pathways that are both attractive and accessible to people of all backgrounds. From early school outreach to accessible apprenticeships and inclusive recruitment processes, these pathways are critical to ensuring that the industry continues to evolve, innovate and deliver social value.
3.1.1
Attraction and Outreach
Attracting young people and wider groups into construction is the first step in building a sustainable and diverse talent pipeline. The industry requires a wide range of skills- not only in traditional trades but also in digital, finance, sustainability, design and management roles. Breaking down misconceptions about construction and promoting the diversity of roles in the industry is therefore key.
Firms participating in the Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project emphasised the importance of starting this work early, with outreach beginning at primary school level and continuing through to secondary schools, colleges and beyond. This can include career insight talks, visits to construction sites and interactive sessions designed to spark interest and broaden understanding. A common theme among firms was the value of making construction relatable to young people, such as through apprentices returning to their former schools to share their own journeys into the sector.
Firms represented at the roundtables highlighted the unique opportunities created when they are actively working within local schools, constructing or refurbishing school buildings. These projects allow firms to build meaningful relationships with the schools and their communities, offering students first-hand experiences of a live construction site. Inviting pupils to see their own school being built or transformed provides an inspiring and tangible introduction to the sector, helping to attract interest in construction careers through direct engagement.
Outreach also extends beyond schools. Firms work in partnership with charities, community groups and local organisations to deliver early engagement to those who might not otherwise consider construction as a career. These partnerships allow firms to tailor interventions to specific community needs and reach underrepresented groups more effectively.
3.1.2 Access
Inspiring interest in construction is only the first step. Once that interest has been generated, it is essential that pathways into the sector are genuinely open and accessible, regardless of background or demographic. Firms involved in the roundtables emphasised the importance of offering diverse routes into the industry, particularly those outside of traditional university pathways. Apprenticeships, T Levels, and other vocational qualifications are all being actively promoted as credible and sustainable ways into long-term careers.
BAM UK & Ireland, for example, has hosted 117 T Level placements to date, many of which have progressed into apprenticeships and permanent roles. This demonstrates that alternative routes can provide a direct pipeline into fulfilling careers.
Work experience opportunities also play a critical role, giving individuals practical insight into what working in construction entails and helping them determine whether the sector is right for them. Increasingly, firms are developing virtual work experience programmes to eliminate geographic and financial barriers. For instance, Morgan Sindall’s virtual programme reached over 2000 students in a single year, while Tilbury Douglas provides placements across more than 80% of its live sites.
Beyond entry points, firms are shaping training provision to ensure alignment with industry needs. Morgan Sindall, for instance, collaborates with universities to design course content that meets the demands of modern construction, equipping students with relevant skills for successful careers.
Recruitment processes are also being reimagined to ensure they are transparent, unbiased and equitable. Online assessments and applications remove geographic barriers, while scoring systems reduce subjectivity in decision-making. Many firms localise recruitment at branch or site level, ensuring that opportunities reflect the specific needs of communities and recruitment decisions are taken by those who know their specific communities best.
Case Study: Morgan Sindall Construction
In 2025, Morgan Sindall ran a three-day Work Taster Event in partnership with Developing the Young Workforce and Historic Environment Scotland. Over 160 young people aged 16–25 participated in activities spanning digital construction, sustainability, quantity surveying, retrofitting, conservation, mechanical and electrical work, bricklaying and scaffolding. Following the event, 84% of participants reported they were likely to consider a career in construction, up from 70% before the programme.
Case Study: Tilbury Douglas
Tilbury Douglas invests around 6,000 hours annually in school engagement. The company has created an innovative interactive digital platform, Virtual World of Work, aimed at primary school children.
This tool introduces students to the variety of roles within construction, including digital and sustainability roles, helping to capture imagination at an early age.
Case study: TSL
In 2025 TSL engaged with the Hull and East Yorkshire Business Skills Hub to host 10 teachers from local schools to their site in Hull to learn about entry routes, roles and skills required to enter into the construction industry. The event, included talks from various discipline leads such as design, management, sustainability and commercial and included a discussion on how technology and digital skills are integrated into roles.
Case Study: Tilbury Douglas
Tilbury Douglas actively targets young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, offering one-week training and on-site learning programmes. These placements include mock interviews with the company and supply chain partners, providing practical employability support and confidence-building opportunities for those who may otherwise struggle to access opportunities within the industry.
3.1.3 Opportunity for All
Despite significant progress, the construction industry still faces challenges in representation, particularly in relation to gender and ethnicity. While individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are relatively well represented, disparities remain in attracting and retaining women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds. Firms are acutely aware of this ongoing challenge and are developing targeted initiatives to address underrepresentation.
Partnerships with external organisations have proven particularly valuable, bringing in specialist expertise and demographic insights. Together, firms and their partners deliver employability support, CV writing workshops and targeted initiatives for groups such as care leavers, prison leavers and the long-term unemployed. Such work is designed to reduce barriers for those further away from opportunity and create clearer entry routes into the sector.
Representation also extends to the way firms present themselves. Many are prioritising diverse imagery on websites, promotional materials and recruitment campaigns to ensure that prospective candidates can see themselves reflected within the sector. Increasingly, firms are also collecting and analysing demographic data from applicants, helping them identify barriers and adapt recruitment practices.
Case Study: BAM UK & Ireland
BAM UK & Ireland has invested heavily in ensuring equality of opportunity within recruitment. This includes reviewing the language used in job adverts, making reasonable adjustments for candidates with additional needs and adopting standardised interview questions to remove bias. These measures help to level the playing field and create fairer access to opportunities.
Case Study: Morgan Sindall
Construction
Morgan Sindall is working with Islamic faith organisations in Yorkshire to engage with Muslim communities, a group historically underrepresented in construction. Through this collaboration, the company has offered six-month placements to five young people, two of whom have since secured full-time roles. The initiative highlights the breadth of opportunities available, from digital and engineering roles to finance and project management.
Case Study: BAM UK & Ireland
BAM UK & Ireland partners with the Royal Academy of Engineering to support university students from underrepresented groups. The initiative provides access to mentors from diverse backgrounds and offers employability support, including CV writing and career guidance. Work placements have also been provided, leading to tangible career opportunities for participants.
3.1.4 Challenges
Despite the wide-ranging and proactive initiatives undertaken by contractors, persistent challenges remain in ensuring construction is accessible and attractive to all. A key issue is the sustainability of school outreach. Engagement is often tied to live projects, meaning that once a contractor leaves an area, the momentum and relationships built with schools may fade. This lack of continuity limits long-term impact, particularly in areas where local authorities or schools themselves do not maintain outreach.
Geographic disparities also present barriers. “Cold spots” with little construction activity are often overlooked, leaving potential talent untapped. Furthermore, the quality of careers advice in schools was repeatedly cited as a concern. Many schools hold only a superficial understanding of the industry, presenting it as primarily manual labour-based and failing to highlight roles in digital, sustainability, finance or bid writing. Parents and carers also exert significant influence, often perpetuating outdated perceptions that construction offers limited long-term prospects.
Training provision poses further challenges. Firms expressed concern that current training does not adequately reflect the sector’s evolving needs, leaving new entrants underprepared for longterm careers. The Growth and Skills Levy (formerly the Apprenticeship Levy), while well-intentioned, was described as inflexible, and providers for apprenticeships remain limited due to the academic focus of universities.
Geographic disparities also present barriers. “Cold spots” with little construction activity are often overlooked, leaving potential talent untapped.
Accessibility for career changers is another pressing issue. Many individuals with transferable skills find opportunities difficult to access due to low entry-level pay, which can deter older candidates with financial and family responsibilities. The lack of funding to support upskilling for over-25s further exacerbates this problem, limiting the sector’s ability to benefit from a rich pool of experienced talent.
3.2
Construction as a Place Leader
The construction sector holds a unique and powerful position in shaping communities, not only through the delivery of physical infrastructure but also by generating lasting, positive change. Unlike many industries, construction projects leave behind a visible, tangible presence within the places they touch.
This presence, however, can go beyond buildings and infrastructure to include profound social impact. At its best, construction can improve social mobility, generate employment opportunities, strengthen community facilities, upskill supply chain partners and embed sustainability into the fabric of a region. In doing so, construction firms have the potential to act as “place leaders”; organisations that play a central role in shaping the identity, resilience and longterm prospects of communities.
Longer-term construction projects, in particular, have significant potential to achieve transformational outcomes. With extended timelines, these projects create space to provide training, support employability and genuinely change the trajectory of local lives. This capacity for long-lasting influence has encouraged ongoing exploration of how the construction sector can work with local authorities, community organisations and other stakeholders to maximise local impact and ensure that the legacy of positive social and economic outcomes continues to thrive within the community after construction has finished.
Case study: TSL
3.2.1 Project Inception
Delivering meaningful outcomes begins at the earliest possible stage. For the firms participating in the Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project, social impact is embedded into the planning phases of projects to ensure that it does not become an afterthought.
Firms increasingly recognise that factoring social impact into the design of a project is vital for ensuring long-term transformation rather than short-lived boosts to local employment that vanish upon project completion. Embedding this thinking early ensures that social value becomes a thread running through every stage of project delivery.
The roundtable discussions highlighted that while all projects have some potential to deliver social value, the scale and methods of delivery vary significantly depending on the type, length and location of the project. Long-term projects can aim for broader, systemic changes such as improved social mobility, skills pipelines or long-term employability. In contrast, shorter projects- those lasting under a year- must adopt more focused, realistic goals for social impact, tailored to what is achievable within a limited timeframe.
To achieve these outcomes, construction firms are adopting holistic, place-centred approaches to planning for legacy and impact. These approaches begin with a comprehensive analysis of local needs, ensuring that firms understand the challenges facing each community.
TSL embeds local value needs assessments into all of its projects to ensure that investment directly benefits the communities in which it operates. This process identifies local priorities and opportunities particularly around themes such as jobs, skills, community resilience and local economic growth. As part of this approach, TSL develops tender strategies for new projects that target a minimum of 10% Social and Local Economic Added Value, ensuring that each development delivers far more than physical infrastructure.
Case Study: Tilbury Douglas
Tilbury Douglas has embedded local needs analysis and stakeholder engagement into its pre-construction process. By connecting with communities and local authorities early on, and maintaining these relationships throughout the project, they ensure that the benefits delivered reflect genuine community priorities. This strategy not only improves immediate outcomes but also fosters collaboration among local stakeholders, creating networks that endure after the construction firm has departed.
3.2.2 Community Engagement and Partnerships
Firms participating in the project consistently emphasise that partnerships lie at the heart of delivering a meaningful and enduring legacy. Collaboration with local authorities, voluntary and community organisations and education providers creates a supportive ecosystem that amplifies the impact of construction projects. By building a network of stakeholders, construction firms can extend their influence beyond the physical boundaries of a site, ensuring that the benefits of a project reach the entire community.
A key aspect of this work is engagement with supply chain partners. By upskilling local suppliers and helping them to adapt to emerging demands, such as low-carbon construction methods, firms ensure that their positive impact continues after the project concludes. This approach also promotes sustainable, self-sufficient local economies.
Resident engagement is equally critical. Local people, who are often the most directly affected by projects, are too often left out of planning decisions and consultation. Firms are increasingly recognising the importance of involving residents early and consistently, enabling them to shape the outcomes that will affect their daily lives.
Case Study: Morgan Sindall Construction
Morgan Sindall has formalised a new approach to addressing local challenges through its ‘Just Transition’ strategy. This initiative focuses on supporting communities to thrive in the move towards a lowcarbon economy, addressing the risks and opportunities that decarbonisation presents.
The strategy aims to address the misalignment between how the Social Value Act is deployed and the real needs of local communities, by considering how businesses such as Morgan Sindall, together with stakeholders and partners, can establish a longer-term legacy in specific geographic areas.
Through regional projects that bring together multiple stakeholders, the firm supports local stakeholders to re-imagine how individuals and businesses can thrive in the future, with the aim of creating resilient, future-proofed communities that are actively benefiting from the transition to net zero.
Case Study: TSL
TSL provides a strong example of place-based leadership in its work on SmartParc in Derby. By partnering closely with Derby City Council, TSL ensured that the site was integrated into local initiatives such as the Derby Promise, which connects schools with employers and cultural organisations to broaden young people’s horizons. This demonstrates how strong collaboration between construction firms and local authorities can embed long-term educational and social benefits into a project’s legacy.
3.2.3 Measuring Social Value
Measurement and accountability are essential for ensuring that social value is not just promised but delivered. Construction firms increasingly recognise the importance of transparent and accessible metrics to demonstrate the outcomes of their projects. Clear measurement enables clients, stakeholders and local communities to understand the benefits a project has created, and to hold firms accountable for delivering on their commitments.
Participating firms have all developed robust internal frameworks for both forecasting and tracking social value, with many refining their methods to ensure outcomes are presented in ways that local residents can understand.
Case Study: BAM UK & Ireland
Measuring and demonstrating social value is a key priority for BAM UK & Ireland. By embedding social value into all aspects of project planning and delivery, the firm ensures that social impact is never an afterthought, and has set ambitious targets, including delivering 35% social, local and economic value on all projects by 2026. These targets are supported by a series of Key Performance Indicators that place a strong emphasis on social mobility.
Furthermore, the firm’s focus on educating clients and sharing local research ensures that social value becomes a shared priority, rather than an isolated deliverable.
Measuring and demonstrating social value is a key priority for BAM
UK & Ireland.
3.2.4 Challenges
While the roundtable discussions showcased the widespread work being done by all Breaking Down Barriers to Construction firms to deliver transformational social value in communities, persistent challenges that are impeding further progress were also revealed.
The lack of cohesion across the construction ecosystem is a recurring theme which presents numerous barriers to achieving greater social impact. Much of the responsibility for social value currently falls on construction firms alone, when in reality, architects, designers and other stakeholders a significant role to play in embedding social impact into project delivery. A more holistic approach is needed, integrating design and construction so that economic, social and employment impacts are considered at every stage.
Inconsistencies across Local Authorities also create challenges. Each authority has its own processes, expectations and levels of engagement, meaning firms must adopt bespoke strategies for every project. This lack of standardisation extends to clients, whose varying levels of understanding around social value often lead to unrealistic expectations, particularly on shorter-term projects, or, conversely, a lack of interest altogether. These inconsistencies make planning for social impact time- and resource-intensive, stretching firms’ capacity to deliver.
Measurement remains a complex issue. Frameworks such as the Social Value ‘Themes, Outcomes and Measures’ (TOMs) system were designed to provide a single, standardised way of defining and calculating social value, but in practice they now sit alongside a growing number of alternative platforms and tools used by frameworks and suppliers. Taken together, this approach makes it increasingly difficult to compare performance between projects or organisations. With no common, mandated core of measures, there is a risk that compliance with whichever metrics a given client has chosen takes precedence over delivering meaningful, long-term social impact.
3.3 Mission-Led Procurement
Procurement is a central element of the construction process, determining not only which companies and suppliers are involved in delivering a project, but also shaping the broader social, environmental and economic outcomes that flow from it.
Through procurement, construction firms establish their supply chains, identify partners and set standards for delivery. This means procurement decisions carry weight well beyond cost considerations; they influence the creation of jobs, the inclusion of local businesses, the sustainability of materials and ultimately the extent to which projects contribute to long-term community benefit.
In recent years, procurement in the UK construction sector has continued to evolve. While the Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement, introduced in early 2025, have reshaped the procurement framework, the primary legal obligation to consider social value still sits with public procurers under the Social Value Act.
The Procurement Act itself provides a new structure that leaves significant discretion in how social value is approached, rather than mandating a single model. Within this context, there remains an emphasis on achieving value for money and maximising public benefit, while reducing barriers for SMEs to participate in supply chains and encouraging greater consideration of social outcomes across all levels of procurement.
As firms adapt to these new requirements, industry-wide collaboration, such as through the Breaking Down Barriers to Construction project roundtables, has become critical in providing valuable spaces for firms to explore how procurement processes can be redesigned to deliver positive social outcomes without creating additional burdens. Procurement is no longer simply about purchasing at the lowest cost, but about embedding sustainability, inclusion and community benefit into the foundations of construction projects.
3.3.1 Procurement with Purpose
The project’s roundtable discussions highlighted that the participating firms already have welldeveloped procurement strategies where social value and sustainability are central considerations, even before the new legislation was introduced. The firms routinely consider these factors above cost when making procurement decisions, reflecting a clear sense of mission in how they operate.
The new legislative requirements have shaped procurement processes, but firms emphasised that their core priorities remain unchanged. They are committed to delivering social value and community benefits through procurement, regardless of the latest political priorities. Frequent changes in political agendas - for example, whether the emphasis is on rapid economic growth or the green transition - can be difficult for firms to adapt to if they were to shift strategies every time the national conversation moves. Instead, firms stressed that they remain dedicated to their own missions, ensuring stability and consistency in how they embed social value.
A key development has been ensuring that these procurement priorities are understood and adopted across the entire business. Firms are mandating training, not only for procurement teams but also for wider colleagues, to ensure that everyone is aligned with this mission. This training reinforces the principle that decisions should no longer be based on cost alone, but should prioritise social value and sustainability. By embedding this approach at all levels of the business, firms are ensuring that procurement becomes a collective effort driven by shared purpose.
A key development has been ensuring that these procurement priorities are understood and adopted across the entire business.
Case Study: BAM UK & Ireland
BAM UK & Ireland exemplifies purposedriven procurement with its mission of ‘building a sustainable tomorrow’. The firm has embedded sustainability into its procurement strategy, making it a central theme of decision-making. This strategy was developed collaboratively across BAM UK & Ireland’s UK and Ireland and Netherlands offices, setting consistent expectations internationally and securing buy-in from across the entire company.
When engaging with potential supply chain partners, BAM UK & Ireland requires them to answer detailed questions about sustainability before any discussion of cost takes place, ensuring that the firm’s expectations on this topic are clear from the outset. Furthermore, the company allocates a dedicated client director to each client, whose role is to guide them through the procurement process and ensure that they too are engaged with BAM UK & Ireland’s mission of prioritising sustainability and social value over cost alone.
3.3.2 Supporting SMEs
The roundtables revealed a growing movement within the construction industry, which is reinforced by legislation, towards a more local and place-based approach to procurement. This reflects recognition of the unique expertise that SMEs can bring to projects and the wide-ranging community benefits their involvement can deliver.
Employing local SMEs strengthens regional economies, creates jobs and provides opportunities to upskill local people. In doing so, communities become more resilient and self-sufficient, with benefits that extend far beyond the life of a single project.
There is strong appetite across the sector to see more SMEs participating in supply chains. However, the expectations placed on them can be challenging. SMEs are now required to demonstrate how they will deliver social value, including providing measurable evidence of their social, economic and environmental impacts, and committing to KPI targets.
For smaller firms with limited resources, producing this level of detail can be difficult. Larger Tier 1 firms are therefore stepping in to support SMEs, offering training, upskilling and policy development assistance to help them meet procurement requirements and gain entry into supply chains, however the additional time and resource constraints this places on already-stretched construction firms should not be overlooked.
Case Study: Tilbury Douglas
Tilbury Douglas has a presence across a wide range of UK regions and makes extensive use of local SMEs in its procurement. On longer-term projects, around 95% of procurement decisions go to regional SMEs.
For smaller firms with limited resources, producing this level of detail can be difficult.
While partnering with smaller businesses can bring challenges due to their limited resources and capacity, Tilbury Douglas recognises the significant social impact that SMEs can deliver. By contributing to local recruitment, job creation and upskilling, SMEs become powerful partners in delivering social impact. The firm takes a realistic approach to what SMEs can deliver, supporting them where needed while appreciating the unique value they bring to communities.
Construction companies often find themselves left to interpret and implement these changes alone, without wider industry guidance or leadership, creating additional pressure on internal resources.
Case Study: Morgan Sindall Construction
Morgan Sindall places strong emphasis on working with SMEs to deliver outcomes that address local priorities and create lasting community legacies.
A prime example is its work retrofitting the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The firm developed a comprehensive Social Value Plan for the project, which included a major focus on skills development and legacy building. This was achieved through a wide range of initiatives, such as careers events, school engagement sessions across five London boroughs and intensive collaboration with supply chain partners.
SMEs were supported in developing the specialist skills required to work on Grade II listed structures, leaving them better equipped for future projects. In this way, the project delivered both immediate benefits and a longer-term skills legacy within the local SME community.
3.3.3 Challenges
The transition to mission-led procurement is not without its challenges. Participating firms reported that while they had already embedded strong processes prior to the introduction of new legislation, adapting to new requirements can still be difficult, particularly given the rapid pace of change driven by shifting political environments. Construction companies often find themselves left to interpret and implement these changes alone, without wider industry guidance or leadership, creating additional pressure on internal resources.
Another key challenge is how bids are evaluated. The reliance on proprietary measurement systems – including the TOMs framework and a range of other platform-based tools – can encourage a tick-box mentality. Firms expressed concerns that procurement decisions risk becoming more about maximising scores within a chosen system than about achieving genuine social outcomes. For example, partnerships with local SMEs, which firms agreed often deliver the most meaningful and lasting social impact, may not score highly depending on the metrics used. This creates a misalignment between what is rewarded during procurement and what actually creates long-term community benefit.
Supporting SMEs also remains resource-intensive for both Tier 1 firms and smaller suppliers. While larger contractors are committed to helping SMEs upskill and enter supply chains, the reality is that time, personnel and financial resources are often limited on both sides. This makes the process of integrating SMEs into supply chains slow and challenging. There is a need for more realistic expectations about what SMEs can deliver, recognising their limited capacity but also valuing the significant social impact they can achieve when given the opportunity.
4. Recommendations
The insights shared during the Breaking Down Barriers to Construction roundtables have been analysed by This is Purpose to produce a series of strategic recommendations. These recommendations aim to help construction firms - as well as policymakers and wider industry bodies - to strengthen and scale the social impact they deliver.
The proposals below draw directly from the experiences and expertise of industry leaders and practitioners involved in this project, focusing on practical measures that can drive equality of opportunity, foster collaboration and enable long-term community benefit.
The recommendations are structured around the three key focus areas of the roundtables: Pathways into Construction, Construction as a Place Leader and MissionLed Procurement. Together, they provide a roadmap for a construction industry that is not only economically successful but also socially transformative.
into Construction
1. National Education Engagement Strategy
One of the strongest themes emerging from the roundtables was the need for greater coordination and consistency in outreach and engagement efforts. With this in mind, a national, industrywide school and college engagement strategy should be introduced, supported by the creation of a central database that connects and records all outreach activity undertaken by construction firms in schools and communities. This would allow firms working in a particular region to see which schools have already been engaged, by which firms, and when. Such a database would make it easier to coordinate efforts, facilitate effective handovers when one firm completes a project and another begins work in the same area and help ensure that students inspired by earlier engagement opportunities are not left behind once a firm departs.
This system should also include mechanisms to flag when a firm is about to exit an area, enabling discussions around how the outreach and skills work it initiated can be continued by local stakeholders or incoming firms. By doing so, the database would help address the current challenge of fragmented and short-term outreach activity- a concern widely recognised during the roundtables.
Furthermore, this approach would promote collaboration and shared responsibility, encouraging firms to ‘pass the baton’ rather than operate in isolation. Firms could also be encouraged or even required to revisit areas in which they have previously worked, maintaining ongoing relationships with schools and local partners.
Pathways
2. National Attraction Campaign
There is a pressing need for a national attraction campaign to inspire more people to pursue careers in construction. Much like the campaigns used to promote teaching or the armed forces, this initiative should aim to reshape perceptions of construction, highlighting the wide variety of roles available and the modern, skilled and innovative nature of the industry.
Given the widening skills gap across the sector, such a campaign could play a critical role in attracting new talent and addressing persistent misconceptions about what working in construction entails. Both the national engagement database and this attraction campaign should be championed by industry bodies such as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to ensure whole-industry buy-in and to prevent the burden of implementation falling solely on individual firms.
Construction firms should also consider working further with This is Purpose to hold Purpose Lab sessions focused on engaging directly with young people at the beginning of the talent pipeline. Purpose Lab sessions would offer construction firms the opportunity to share insights into the construction sector with university students and gain a better understanding of their perceptions of the industry.
3. Pathways for Career Changers
Efforts to strengthen pathways into construction must also go beyond younger entrants. There is substantial untapped potential among older workers and career changers. The industry should introduce targeted pathway programmes for individuals seeking to shift sectors, recognising the transferable skills, diverse experiences and perspectives they can bring.
To attract these individuals, policymakers should explore incentives for both employers and employees, for example, reducing National Insurance contributions for firms that invest in reskilling UK-based talent or introducing a reverse immigration levy surcharge. Financial support mechanisms could also include allowing career changers to continue receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance while undertaking low-paid apprenticeships, easing the financial transition into a new industry.
These pathway programmes would reflect modern working patterns, particularly among younger generations who increasingly pursue multiple careers across their lifetime rather than remaining in a single sector. As the world of work evolves and the demand for skills in areas such as AI, digital technologies and green construction continue to grow, enabling and incentivising mid-career professionals to reskill quickly will be essential.
The industry should introduce targeted pathway programmes for individuals seeking to shift sectors, recognising the transferable skills, diverse experiences and perspectives they can bring.
Construction as a Place Leader
1. National Best Practice Framework
To reduce the burden currently placed on individual firms, the construction industry should collectively establish a clear best practice framework for local stakeholder engagement. This framework should set out what best practice looks like for working within communities, clarifying the expectations on firms operating in local areas. It should encompass engagement with the entire ecosystem, including local stakeholders, residents, local authorities, architects, designers and supply chain partners, and ensure that activities prioritise addressing local needs, supporting local skills development and delivering measurable community benefit.
Such a framework would provide firms with clarity and consistency, addressing one of the key challenges identified during the roundtables: the lack of standardisation across regions and local authorities. With each area currently operating differently, firms often need to adapt their engagement models repeatedly. A national framework would enable them to adopt a more consistent, efficient approach while maintaining flexibility for local context.
The framework should also distinguish between what is achievable on projects of different lengths. Establishing realistic expectations for what can be delivered on projects over and under 52 weeks would bring much-needed clarity and prevent unrealistic demands from clients or local authorities. This would help balance ambition with feasibility and ensure that social impact goals remain credible and deliverable.
2. Refining Social Value Measurement
Measurement remains one of the most inconsistent and challenging aspects of social value delivery. Firms reported having to work with a wide range of tools - including the TOMs framework and a growing number of alternative systems provided through frameworks, platforms and suppliers - which can produce results that are difficult to compare and, at times, feel almost pointless to set side by side. Without a common, mandated core of outcome-based measures, social value reporting risks reinforcing a tick-box mindset rather than driving meaningful, long-term impact.
Industry bodies and government should work together to agree and require a shared set of core, outcomes-focused measures that all frameworks and platforms must be able to report against. Alongside this, firms and local authorities should consider adopting the Social Scopes measurement framework as a way of bringing greater consistency, transparency and community focus to how social value is assessed and communicated. Using a framework that is impartial and easy to understand would help clients, local authorities and residents to see more clearly what a project has contributed to their area, while still allowing organisations to meet the specific reporting requirements of individual procurement frameworks.
To reduce the burden currently placed on individual firms, the construction industry should collectively establish a clear best practice framework for local stakeholder engagement.
Mission-Led Procurement
1. Stronger Industry Leadership on Procurement
Leadership from industry bodies across the construction sector is urgently needed to provide clarity and direction on procurement priorities. Frequent changes in the political landscape can create uncertainty about what should be prioritised when evaluating bids, making it challenging for firms to maintain consistent procurement strategies.
A unified, industry-led voice, potentially through sector bodies or professional associations, could help set stable guidance on how to balance social value, sustainability and value for money in procurement decisions, regardless of political shifts, reducing the burden on individual firms to navigate policy shifts alone.
2. Support to Upskill SMEs
There is widespread consensus that SMEs bring enormous local expertise and potential to deliver social value, yet too much of the responsibility for upskilling and supporting them currently falls on construction firms themselves. Larger Tier 1 contractors are already stretched for time and resources, and many smaller businesses struggle to meet the increasingly complex requirements needed to enter supply chains.
5. Conclusion
The recommendations presented in this section represent practical steps that can be taken by construction firms, industry bodies and policymakers to enhance social value delivery across the sector. From building consistent national frameworks for engagement and measurement, to fostering inclusive pathways into construction and strengthening procurement practices, these measures collectively aim to create a more equitable, sustainable and socially responsible industry.
More funding and coordinated support are therefore required from both government and industry bodies, including the CITB, to help SMEs develop the capabilities needed to participate fully. This should include targeted investment in training and development for emerging areas such as green construction and AI-driven technologies, ensuring that smaller firms are not left behind as the industry evolves.
At present, SMEs often do not score well in social value measurement systems, as expectations can be disproportionately high relative to their size and capacity. A more supportive and realistic approach is neededone that helps both SMEs and Tier 1 firms work together effectively to maximise social outcomes. By investing in SME capability and improving how their contributions are evaluated, the industry can unlock significant untapped social and economic value in local communities.
At present, SMEs often do not score well in social value measurement systems.
The success of these recommendations will depend on shared ownership and collaboration. It will require leadership from industry bodies like the CITB, active participation from construction firms of all sizes and clear commitment from government to support reskilling, upskilling and consistent measurement. If implemented collectively, these actions will not only enhance the sector’s contribution to society but also ensure that construction continues to play a defining role in shaping places, supporting communities, and creating opportunity for all.
The Purpose Coalition campaign is proudly run by This is Purpose, part of Crowne Associates.
